Drew A. Rholl

Versatile Dual-Technology System for Markerless Allele Replacement in Burkholderia pseudomallei

ABSTRACT Burkholderia pseudomallei is the etiologic agent of melioidosis, a rare but serious tropical disease. In the United States, genetic research with this select agent bacterium is strictly regulated. Although several select agent compliant methods have been developed for allelic replacement, all of them suffer from some drawbacks, such as a need for specific host backgrounds or use of minimal media. Here we describe a versatile select agent compliant allele replacement system for B. pseudomallei based on a mobilizable vector, pEXKm5, which contains (i) a multiple cloning site within a lacZα gene for facile cloning of recombinant DNA fragments, (ii) a constitutively expressed gusA indicator gene for visual detection of merodiploid formation and resolution, and (iii) elements required for resolution of merodiploids using either I-SceI homing endonuclease-stimulated recombination or sacB-based counterselection. The homing endonuclease-based allele replacement system is completed by pBADSce, which contains an araC-PBAD-I-sceI expression cassette for arabinose-inducible I-SceI expression and a temperature-sensitive pRO1600 replicon for facile plasmid curing. Complementing these systems is the improved Δasd Escherichia coli mobilizer strain RHO3. This strain is susceptible to commonly used antibiotics and allows nutritional counterselection on rich media because of its diaminopimelic acid auxotrophy. The versatility of the I-SceI- and sacB-based methods afforded by pEXKm5 in conjunction with E. coli RHO3 was demonstrated by isolation of diverse deletion mutants in several clinical, environmental, and laboratory B. pseudomallei strains. Finally, sacB-based counterselection was employed to isolate a defined chromosomal fabD(Ts) allele that causes synthesis of a temperature-sensitive FabD, an essential fatty acid biosynthesis enzyme.

Antimicrobial resistance to ceftazidime involving loss of penicillin-binding protein 3 in Burkholderia pseudomallei

Known mechanisms of resistance to β-lactam antibiotics include β-lactamase expression, altered drug target, decreased bacterial permeability, and increased drug efflux. Here, we describe a unique mechanism of β-lactam resistance in the biothreat organism Burkholderia pseudomallei (the cause of melioidosis), associated with treatment failure during prolonged ceftazidime therapy of natural infection. Detailed comparisons of the initial ceftazidime-susceptible infecting isolate and subsequent ceftazidime-resistant variants from six patients led us to identify a common, large-scale genomic loss involving a minimum of 49 genes in all six resistant strains. Mutational analysis of wild-type B. pseudomallei demonstrated that ceftazidime resistance was due to deletion of a gene encoding a penicillin-binding protein 3 (BPSS1219) present within the region of genomic loss. The clinical ceftazidime-resistant variants failed to grow using commonly used laboratory culture media, including commercial blood cultures, rendering the variants almost undetectable in the diagnostic laboratory. Melioidosis is notoriously difficult to cure and clinical treatment failure is common in patients treated with ceftazidime, the drug of first choice across most of Southeast Asia where the majority of cases are reported. The mechanism described here represents an explanation for ceftazidime treatment failure, and may be a frequent but undetected resistance event.

Molecular investigations of PenA-mediated β-lactam resistance in Burkholderia pseudomallei

Burkholderia pseudomallei is the etiological agent of melioidosis. Because of the bacterium’s intrinsic resistance and propensity to establish latent infections, melioidosis therapy is complicated and prolonged. Newer generation β-lactams, specifically ceftazidime, are used for acute phase therapy, but resistance to this cephalosporin has been observed. The chromosomally encoded penA gene encodes a putative twin arginine translocase (TAT)-secreted β-lactamase, and penA mutations have been implicated in ceftazidime resistance in clinical isolates. However, the role of PenA in resistance has not yet been systematically studied in isogenetic B. pseudomallei mutant backgrounds. We investigated the effects of penA deletion, point mutations, and up-regulation, as well as tat operon deletion and PenA TAT-signal sequence mutations. These experiments were made possible by employing a B. pseudomallei strain that is excluded from Select Agent regulations. Deletion of penA significantly (>4-fold) reduced the susceptibility to six of the nine β-lactams tested and ≥16-fold for ampicillin, amoxicillin, and carbenicillin. Overexpression of penA by single-copy, chromosomal expression of the gene under control of the inducible Ptac promoter, increased resistance levels for all β-lactams tested 2- to 10-fold. Recreation of the C69Y and P167S PenA amino acid substitutions previously observed in resistant clinical isolates increased resistance to ceftazidime by ≥85- and 5- to 8-fold, respectively. Similarly, a S72F substitution resulted in a 4-fold increase in resistance to amoxicillin and clavulanic acid. Susceptibility assays with PenA TAT-signal sequence and ΔtatABC mutants, as well as Western blot analysis, confirmed that PenA is a TAT secreted enzyme and not periplasmic but associated with the spheroplastic cell fraction. Lastly, we determined that two LysR-family regulators encoded by genes adjacent to penA do not play a role in transcriptional regulation of penA expression.

In vitro activity of BAL30072 against Burkholderia pseudomallei

Burkholderia pseudomallei is an intrinsically antibiotic-resistant Category B priority pathogen and the aetiological agent of melioidosis. Treatment of B. pseudomallei infection is biphasic and lengthy in order to combat the acute and chronic phases of the disease. Acute-phase treatment preferably involves an intravenous cephalosporin (ceftazidime) or a carbapenem (imipenem or meropenem). In this study, the anti-B. pseudomallei efficacy of a new monosulfactam, BAL30072, was tested against laboratory strains 1026b and 1710b and several isogenic mutant derivatives as well as a collection of clinical and environmental B. pseudomallei strains from Thailand. More than 93% of the isolates had minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs) in the range 0.004-0.016 μg/mL. For the laboratory strain 1026b, the MIC of BAL30072 was 0.008 μg/mL, comparable with the MICs of 1.5 μg/mL for ceftazidime, 0.5 μg/mL for imipenem and 1 μg/mL for meropenem. Time-kill curves revealed that BAL30072 was rapidly bactericidal, killing >99% of bacteria in 2 h. BAL30072 activity was not significantly affected by efflux, it was only a marginal substrate of PenA β-lactamase, and activity was independent of malleobactin production and transport and the ability to transport pyochelin. In summary, BAL30072 has superior in vitro activity against B. pseudomallei compared with ceftazidime, meropenem or imipenem and it is rapidly bactericidal.

In Vivo Himar1 Transposon Mutagenesis of Burkholderia pseudomallei

ABSTRACT Burkholderia psedudomallei is the etiologic agent of melioidosis, and the bacterium is listed as a potential agent of bioterrorism because of its low infectious dose, multiple infectious routes, and intrinsic antibiotic resistance. To further accelerate research with this understudied bacterium, we developed a Himar1-based random mutagenesis system for B. pseudomallei (HimarBP). The transposons contain a Flp recombinase-excisable, approved kanamycin resistance selection marker and an R6K origin of replication for transposon rescue. In vivo mutagenesis of virulent B. pseudomallei strain 1026b was highly efficient, with up to 44% of cells transformed with the delivery plasmid harboring chromosomal HimarBP insertions. Southern analyses revealed single insertions with no evidence of delivery plasmid maintenance. Sequence analysis of rescued HimarBP insertions revealed random insertions on both chromosomes within open reading frames and intergenic regions and that the orientation of insertions was largely unbiased. Auxotrophic mutants were obtained at a frequency of 0.72%, and nutritional supplementation experiments supported the functional assignment of genes within the respective biosynthetic pathways. HimarBP insertions were stable in the absence of selection and could be readily transferred between naturally transformable strains. Experiments with B. thailandensis suggest that the newly developed HimarBP transposons can also be used for random mutagenesis of other Burkholderia spp., especially the closely related species B. mallei. Our results demonstrate that comprehensive transposon libraries of B. pseudomallei can be generated, providing additional tools for the study of the biology, pathogenesis, and antibiotic resistance of this pathogen.

Proteomic analysis of colony morphology variants of Burkholderia pseudomallei defines a role for the arginine deiminase system in bacterial survival.

Colony morphology variation of Burkholderia pseudomallei is a notable feature of a proportion of primary clinical cultures from patients with melioidosis. Here, we examined the hypothesis that colony morphology switching results in phenotypic changes associated with enhanced survival under adverse conditions. We generated isogenic colony morphology types II and III from B. pseudomallei strain 153 type I, and compared their protein expression profiles using 2D gel electrophoresis. Numerous proteins were differentially expressed, the most prominent of which were flagellin, arginine deiminase (AD) and carbamate kinase (CK), which were over-expressed in isogenic types II and III compared with parental type I. AD and CK (encoded by arcA and arcC) are components of the arginine deiminase system (ADS) which facilitates acid tolerance. Reverse transcriptase PCR of arcA and arcC mRNA expression confirmed the proteomic results. Transcripts of parental type I strain 153 arcA and arcC were increased in the presence of arginine, in a low oxygen concentration and in acid. Comparison of wild type with arcA and arcC defective mutants demonstrated that the B. pseudomallei ADS was associated with survival in acid, but did not appear to play a role in intracellular survival or replication within the mouse macrophage cell line J774A.1. These data provide novel insights into proteomic alterations that occur during the complex process of morphotype switching, and lend support to the idea that this is associated with a fitness advantage in vivo.

The Burkholderia pseudomallei enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase FabI1 is essential for in vivo growth and is the target of a novel chemotherapeutic with efficacy.

ABSTRACT The bacterial fatty acid biosynthesis pathway is a validated target for the development of novel chemotherapeutics. However, since Burkholderia pseudomallei carries genes that encode both FabI and FabV enoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) reductase homologues, the enoyl-ACP reductase that is essential for in vivo growth needs to be defined so that the correct drug target can be chosen for development. Accordingly, ΔfabI1, ΔfabI2, and ΔfabV knockout strains were constructed and tested in a mouse model of infection. Mice infected with a ΔfabI1 strain did not show signs of morbidity, mortality, or dissemination after 30 days of infection compared to the wild-type and ΔfabI2 and ΔfabV mutant strains that had times to mortality of 60 to 84 h. Although signs of morbidity and mortality of ΔfabI2 and ΔfabV strains were not significantly different from those of the wild-type strain, a slight delay was observed. A FabI1-specific inhibitor was used to confirm that inhibition of FabI1 results in reduced bacterial burden and efficacy in an acute B. pseudomallei murine model of infection. This work establishes that FabI1 is required for growth of Burkholderia pseudomallei in vivo and is a potential molecular target for drug development.

Exposing a β-Lactamase “Twist”: the Mechanistic Basis for the High Level of Ceftazidime Resistance in the C69F Variant of the Burkholderia pseudomallei PenI β-Lactamase

ABSTRACT Around the world, Burkholderia spp. are emerging as pathogens highly resistant to β-lactam antibiotics, especially ceftazidime. Clinical variants of Burkholderia pseudomallei possessing the class A β-lactamase PenI with substitutions at positions C69 and P167 are known to demonstrate ceftazidime resistance. However, the biochemical basis for ceftazidime resistance in class A β-lactamases in B. pseudomallei is largely undefined. Here, we performed site saturation mutagenesis of the C69 position and investigated the kinetic properties of the C69F variant of PenI from B. pseudomallei that results in a high level of ceftazidime resistance (2 to 64 mg/liter) when expressed in Escherichia coli. Surprisingly, quantitative immunoblotting showed that the steady-state protein levels of the C69F variant β-lactamase were ∼4-fold lower than those of wild-type PenI (0.76 fg of protein/cell versus 4.1 fg of protein/cell, respectively). However, growth in the presence of ceftazidime increases the relative amount of the C69F variant to greater than wild-type PenI levels. The C69F variant exhibits a branched kinetic mechanism for ceftazidime hydrolysis, suggesting there are two different conformations of the enzyme. When incubated with an anti-PenI antibody, one conformation of the C69F variant rapidly hydrolyzes ceftazidime and most likely contributes to the higher levels of ceftazidime resistance observed in cell-based assays. Molecular dynamics simulations suggest that the electrostatic characteristics of the oxyanion hole are altered in the C69F variant. When ceftazidime was positioned in the active site, the C69F variant is predicted to form a greater number of hydrogen-bonding interactions than PenI with ceftazidime. In conclusion, we propose “a new twist” for enhanced ceftazidime resistance mediated by the C69F variant of the PenI β-lactamase based on conformational changes in the C69F variant. Our findings explain the biochemical basis of ceftazidime resistance in B. pseudomallei, a pathogen of considerable importance, and suggest that the full repertoire of conformational states of a β-lactamase profoundly affects β-lactam resistance.

An Improved Selective Culture Medium Enhances the Isolation of Burkholderia pseudomallei from Contaminated Specimens

Burkholderia pseudomallei is a Gram-negative environmental bacterium found in tropical climates that causes melioidosis. Culture remains the diagnostic gold standard, but isolation of B. pseudomallei from heavily contaminated sites, such as fecal specimens, can be difficult. We recently reported that B. pseudomallei is capable of infecting the gastrointestinal tract of mice and suggested that the same may be true in humans. Thus, there is a strong need for new culture techniques to allow for efficient detection of B. pseudomallei in fecal and other specimens. We found that the addition of norfloxacin, ampicillin, and polymyxin B to Ashdowns medium (NAP-A) resulted in increased specificity without affecting the growth of 25 B. pseudomallei strains. Furthermore, recovery of B. pseudomallei from human clinical specimens was not affected by the three additional antibiotics. Therefore, we conclude that NAP-A medium provides a new tool for more sensitive isolation of B. pseudomallei from heavily contaminated sites.