Disruption of the mce operon from Streptomyces affects spore resistance and results in precocious germination
Addington, Emily and Clark, Laura and Hoskisson, Paul (2022) Disruption of the mce operon from Streptomyces affects spore resistance and results in precocious germination. Access Microbiology, 4 (5). ISSN 2516-8290 (https://doi.org/10.1099/acmi.ac2021.po0266)
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Abstract
Streptomyces coelicoloris a non-pathogenic soil saprophytic bacterium and is a model organism for antibiotic production. This species contains a single copy of a nine gene cluster known as the mammalian cell entry (mce) operon. This operon was originally characterised in Mycobacterium tuberculosisas an important virulence factor acting in invasion and survival within macrophages and encodes an ABC transporter for cholesterol import. As the function of the mceoperon in S. coelicoloris currently unknown, this study aims to characterise the operon through deletion of the mcelocus and resulting impact on bacterial morphology and survival. SEM images demonstrate that spores of a mcedeletion mutant (Δmce) display a wrinkled, and ‘fragile’ phenotype, with spores appearing to germinate whilst on the spore chain. Germination assays show that spores of Δmcegerminate earlier than WT S. coelicolor, and impression mounts indicate spore chains emerge earlier in the Δmcestrain. As spores of Δmce possess an altered spore coat, it was hypothesised they might show reduced resistance to stressors. Heat kill assays show that deletion of the mce operon results in S. coelicolor spores which are less tolerant to temperatures of 60, 70, 80, 90 and 100°C compared to WT S. coelicolor spores. Heat activation of Δmce spores was also consistently absent at all temperatures tested. Spores of the Δmcestrain are also less resistant to triclosan, and sulfobetaines. Preliminary results indicate that the mce operon of S. coelicolor may be a cholesterol importer, as Δmce shows reduced growth in the presence of cholesterol, compared to WT S. coelicolor.
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Item type: Article ID code: 80989 Dates: DateEvent27 May 2022Published19 April 2021AcceptedSubjects: Science > Microbiology Department: Faculty of Science > Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences Depositing user: Pure Administrator Date deposited: 09 Jun 2022 12:21 Last modified: 18 Aug 2024 01:27 URI: https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/80989