Genomic diversity and clinical relevance of Mycobacterium simiae.

Introduction: Mycobacterium simiae is a slow-growing non-tuberculous mycobacterium that can cause non-tuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) pulmonary disease and extrapulmonary infections. Until now, detailed genomic and clinical characteristics, as well as possible transmission routes of this rare pathogen remain largely unknown. Methods: We conducted whole genome sequencing of available M. simiae isolates collected at a tertiary care centre in Central Germany from 2006 to 2020 and set them into context with publicly available M. simiae complex sequences through phylogenetic analysis. Resistance, virulence and stress genes, as well as known Mycobacteriaceae plasmid sequences were detected in whole genome raw reads. Clinical data and course were retrieved and correlated with genomic data. Results: We included 33 M. simiae sensu stricto isolates from seven patients. M. simiae showed low clinical relevance with only two patients fulfilling American Thoracic Society (ATS) criteria in our cohort and three receiving NTM-effective therapy. The bacterial populations were highly stable over time periods of up to 14 years, and no instances of mixed or re-infections with other strains of M. simiae were observed. Clustering with <12 single nucleotide polymorphisms distance was evident among isolates from different patients; however, proof for human-to-human transmission could not be established from epidemiological data. Conclusion: Overall, the available sequence data for M. simiae complex was significantly extended and new insights into its pathogenomic traits were obtained. We demonstrate high longitudinal genomic stability within single patients. Although we cannot exclude human-to-human transmission, we consider it unlikely in the light of available epidemiological data.

Clinical characteristics and outcome of Mycobacterium chimaera infections after cardiac surgery: systematic review and meta-analysis of 180 heater-cooler unit-associated cases.

OBJECTIVES: Since 2013, heater-cooler unit (HCU) associated Mycobacterium chimaera infections linked to a global outbreak have been described. These infections were characterised by high morbidity and mortality due to delayed diagnosis, as well as challenges in antimycobacterial and surgical therapy. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and outcome of published cases of HCU-associated M. chimaera infections. METHODS: We searched PubMed and the Web of Science until 15 June 2022 for case reports, case series, and cohort studies, without language restriction, on patients with M. chimaera infection and a prior history of cardiac surgery. In this systematic review of case reports, no risk of bias assessment could be performed. Clinical, microbiological, and radiological features were recorded. Logistic regression and time-to-event analyses were performed to identify the potential factors associated with better survival. RESULTS: One hundred eighty patients from 54 publications were included. Most patients underwent surgical aortic valve (67.0%; 118/176 of patients with available data) or combined aortic valve and root replacement (15.3%; 27/176). The median period between the time point of surgery and the first symptoms was 17 months (interquartile range 13-26 months). The overall case fatality rate was 45.5% (80/176), with a median survival of 24 months after the initiation of antimycobacterial therapy or diagnosis. A reoperation (including the removal or exchange of foreign material) was associated with better survival in multivariate logistic regression (OR 0.32 for lethal events; 95% CI 0.12-0.79; p 0.015) and in time-to-event analysis (p 0.0094). DISCUSSION: This systematic review and meta-analysis confirm the high overall mortality of HCU -associated disseminated M. chimaera infections after cardiac surgery. A reoperation seems to be associated with better survival. Physicians have to stay aware of this infection, as patients might still be present today due to the long latency period.

Molecular Epidemiology of Mycobacterium abscessus Isolates Recovered from German Cystic Fibrosis Patients.

Infections due to Mycobacterium abscessus are a major cause of mortality and morbidity in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Furthermore, M. abscessus has been suspected to be involved in person-to-person transmissions. In 2016, dominant global clonal complexes (DCCs) that occur worldwide among CF patients have been described. To elucidate the epidemiological situation of M. abscessus among CF patients in Germany and to put these data into a global context, we performed whole-genome sequencing of a set of 154 M. abscessus isolates from 123 German patients treated in 14 CF centers. We used MTBseq pipeline to identify clusters of closely related isolates and correlate those with global findings. Genotypic drug susceptibility for macrolides and aminoglycosides was assessed by characterization of the erm(41), rrl, and rrs genes. By this approach, we could identify representatives of all major DCCs (Absc 1, Absc 2, and Mass 1) in our cohort. Intrapersonal isolates showed higher genetic relatedness than interpersonal isolates (median 3 SNPs versus 16 SNPs; P < 0.001). We further identified four clusters with German patients from same centers clustering with less than 25 SNPs distance (range 3 to 18 SNPs) but did not find any hint for in-hospital person-to-person transmission. This is the largest study investigating phylogenetic relations of M. abscessus isolates in Germany. We identified representatives of all reported DCCs but evidence for nosocomial transmission remained inconclusive. Thus, the occurrence of genetically closely related isolates of M. abscessus has to be interpreted with care, as a direct interhuman transmission cannot be directly deduced. IMPORTANCE Mycobacterium abscessus is a major respiratory pathogen in cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Recently it has been shown that dominant global clonal complexes (DCCs) have spread worldwide among CF patients. This study investigated the epidemiological situation of M. abscessus among CF patients in Germany by performing whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of a set of 154 M. abscessus from 123 German patients treated in 14 CF centers. This is the largest study investigating the phylogenetic relationship of M. abscessus CF isolates in Germany.

Delineating Mycobacterium abscessus population structure and transmission employing high-resolution core genome multilocus sequence typing.

Mycobacterium abscessus is an emerging multidrug-resistant non-tuberculous mycobacterium that causes a wide spectrum of infections and has caused several local outbreaks worldwide. To facilitate standardized prospective molecular surveillance, we established a novel core genome multilocus sequence typing (cgMLST) scheme. Whole genome sequencing data of 1991 isolates were employed to validate the scheme, re-analyze global population structure and set genetic distance thresholds for cluster detection and taxonomic identification. We confirmed and amended the nomenclature of the main dominant circulating clones and found that these also correlate well with traditional 7-loci MLST. Dominant circulating clones could be linked to a corresponding reference genome with less than 250 alleles while 99% of pairwise comparisons between epidemiologically linked isolates were below 25 alleles and 90% below 10 alleles. These thresholds can be used to guide further epidemiological investigations. Overall, the scheme will help to unravel the apparent global spread of certain clonal complexes and as yet undiscovered transmission routes.

Origin and Global Expansion of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Complex Lineage 3.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) Lineage 3 (L3) strains are abundant in world regions with the highest tuberculosis burden. To investigate the population structure and the global diversity of this major lineage, we analyzed a dataset comprising 2682 L3 strains from 38 countries over 5 continents, by employing 24-loci mycobacterial interspersed repetitive unit-variable number of tandem repeats genotyping (MIRU-VNTR) and drug susceptibility testing. We further combined whole-genome sequencing (WGS) and phylogeographic analysis for 373 strains representing the global L3 genetic diversity. Ancestral state reconstruction confirmed that the origin of L3 strains is located in Southern Asia and further revealed multiple independent introduction events into North-East and East Africa. This study provides a systematic understanding of the global diversity of L3 strains and reports phylogenetic variations that could inform clinical trials which evaluate the effectivity of new drugs/regimens or vaccine candidates.

The Use of Comparative Genomic Analysis for the Development of Subspecies-Specific PCR Assays for Mycobacterium abscessus.

Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC) is an important pathogen of immunocompromised patients. Accurate and rapid determination of MABC at the subspecies level is vital for optimal antibiotic therapy. Here we have used comparative genomics to design MABC subspecies-specific PCR assays. Analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms and core genome multilocus sequence typing showed clustering of genomes into three distinct clusters representing the MABC subspecies M. abscessus, M. bolletii and M. massiliense. Pangenome analysis of 318 MABC genomes from the three subspecies allowed for the identification of 15 MABC subspecies-specific genes. In silico testing of primer sets against 1,663 publicly available MABC genomes and 66 other closely related Mycobacterium genomes showed that all assays had >97% sensitivity and >98% specificity. Subsequent experimental validation of two subspecies-specific genes each showed the PCR assays worked well in individual and multiplex format with no false-positivity with 5 other mycobacteria of clinical importance. In conclusion, we have developed a rapid, accurate, multiplex PCR-assay for discriminating MABC subspecies that could improve their detection, diagnosis and inform correct treatment choice.

Whole genome sequencing-based classification of human-related Haemophilus species and detection of antimicrobial resistance genes.

BACKGROUND: Bacteria belonging to the genus Haemophilus cause a wide range of diseases in humans. Recently, H. influenzae was classified by the WHO as priority pathogen due to the wide spread of ampicillin resistant strains. However, other Haemophilus spp. are often misclassified as H. influenzae. Therefore, we established an accurate and rapid whole genome sequencing (WGS) based classification and serotyping algorithm and combined it with the detection of resistance genes. METHODS: A gene presence/absence-based classification algorithm was developed, which employs the open-source gene-detection tool SRST2 and a new classification database comprising 36 genes, including capsule loci for serotyping. These genes were identified using a comparative genome analysis of 215 strains belonging to ten human-related Haemophilus (sub)species (training dataset). The algorithm was evaluated on 1329 public short read datasets (evaluation dataset) and used to reclassify 262 clinical Haemophilus spp. isolates from 250 patients (German cohort). In addition, the presence of antibiotic resistance genes within the German dataset was evaluated with SRST2 and correlated with results of traditional phenotyping assays. RESULTS: The newly developed algorithm can differentiate between clinically relevant Haemophilus species including, but not limited to, H. influenzae, H. haemolyticus, and H. parainfluenzae. It can also identify putative haemin-independent H. haemolyticus strains and determine the serotype of typeable Haemophilus strains. The algorithm performed excellently in the evaluation dataset (99.6% concordance with reported species classification and 99.5% with reported serotype) and revealed several misclassifications. Additionally, 83 out of 262 (31.7%) suspected H. influenzae strains from the German cohort were in fact H. haemolyticus strains, some of which associated with mouth abscesses and lower respiratory tract infections. Resistance genes were detected in 16 out of 262 datasets from the German cohort. Prediction of ampicillin resistance, associated with blaTEM-1D, and tetracycline resistance, associated with tetB, correlated well with available phenotypic data. CONCLUSIONS: Our new classification database and algorithm have the potential to improve diagnosis and surveillance of Haemophilus spp. and can easily be coupled with other public genotyping and antimicrobial resistance databases. Our data also point towards a possible pathogenic role of H. haemolyticus strains, which needs to be further investigated.

Linezolid resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates at a tertiary care centre in Mumbai, India.

Background & objectives: Linezolid (LZD) is increasingly being used in tuberculosis (TB) treatment. However, LZD resistance has already been reported, which is highly alarming, given its critical therapeutic role. This study was aimed to phenotypically and genotypically assess LZD resistance in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) isolates at a laboratory in a tertiary care centre in Mumbai, India. Methods: A sample of 32 consecutive LZD-resistant MTB isolates identified by liquid culture susceptibility testing was subjected to whole-genome sequencing (WGS) on the Illumina NextSeq platform. Sequences were analyzed using BioNumerics software to predict resistance for 12 antibiotics within 15 min. Results: Sixty eight of the 2179 isolates tested for LZD resistance by MGIT-based susceptibility testing (June 2015 to June 2016) were LZD-resistant. Thirty two consecutive LZD-resistant isolates were analyzed by WGS to screen for known mutations conferring LZD resistance. WGS of 32 phenotypically LZD-resistant isolates showed that C154R in the rplC gene and G2814T in the rrl gene were the major resistance determinants. Interpretation & conclusions: LZD resistance poses an important risk to the success of treatment regimens, especially those designed for resistant isolates; such regimens are extensively used in India. As LZD-containing regimens increase in prominence, it is important to support clinical decision-making with an improved understanding of the common mutations conferring LZD resistance and their frequency in different settings.

Species-Specific Interferon-Gamma Release Assay for the Diagnosis of Mycobacterium abscessus Complex Infection.

Mycobacterium abscessus complex (MABC) infection has a devastating impact on the course of cystic fibrosis (CF) and non-CF lung disease. Diagnosis of MABC pulmonary disease is challenging, and current diagnostic approaches lack accuracy, especially in CF. In this study, we aimed to establish an MABC-specific interferon-γ release assay to detect host immune responses to MABC and improve diagnostics of MABC infection by the detection of antigen-specific T cells. Four species-specific proteins of MABC were overexpressed in an Escherichia coli expression system. Purified proteins were used to stimulate peripheral blood mononuclear cells of study subjects in an ELISpot assay. Interferon-γ response of 12 subjects with established diagnosis of MABC infection (10 CF and two non-CF) was compared with 35 controls (22 CF and 13 non-CF) distributed to three control groups, 17 CF subjects without NTM infection, nine subjects with NTM infection other than MABC, and nine subjects with tuberculosis. Cellular in vitro responses in the MABC group were stronger than in the control groups, especially toward the protein MAB_0405c (39 vs. 4 spots per 300,000 PBMC, p = 0.004; data represent mean values) in all patients and also in the subgroup of CF subjects (39 spots vs. 1 spot, p = 0.003). Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that spot numbers of at least 20 were highly predictive of MABC infection (all patients: area under curve 0.773, sensitivity 58%, and specificity 94%; CF patients: area under curve 0.818, sensitivity 60%, and specificity 100%). In conclusion, we identified MAB_0405c as a protein that may stimulate MABC-specific interferon-γ secretion and may add to the diagnosis of MABC infection in affected patients.

Analysis of the Global Population Structure of Paenibacillus larvae and Outbreak Investigation of American Foulbrood Using a Stable wgMLST Scheme.

Paenibacillus larvae causes the American foulbrood (AFB), a highly contagious and devastating disease of honeybees. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has been increasingly used in bacterial pathogen typing, but rarely applied to study the epidemiology of P. larvae. To this end, we used 125 P. larvae genomes representative of a species-wide diversity to construct a stable whole-genome multilocus sequence typing (wgMLST) scheme consisting of 5745 loci. A total of 51 P. larvae isolates originating from AFB outbreaks in Slovenia were used to assess the epidemiological applicability of the developed wgMLST scheme. In addition, wgMLST was compared with the core-genome MLST (cgMLST) and whole-genome single nucleotide polymorphism (wgSNP) analyses. All three approaches successfully identified clusters of outbreak-associated strains, which were clearly separated from the epidemiologically unlinked isolates. High levels of backward comparability of WGS-based analyses with conventional typing methods (ERIC-PCR and MLST) were revealed; however, both conventional methods lacked sufficient discriminatory power to separate the outbreak clusters. The developed wgMLST scheme provides an improved understanding of the intra- and inter-outbreak genetic diversity of P. larvae and represents an important progress in unraveling the genomic epidemiology of this important honeybee pathogen.

The phylogenetic landscape and nosocomial spread of the multidrug-resistant opportunist Stenotrophomonas maltophilia.

Recent studies portend a rising global spread and adaptation of human- or healthcare-associated pathogens. Here, we analyse an international collection of the emerging, multidrug-resistant, opportunistic pathogen Stenotrophomonas maltophilia from 22 countries to infer population structure and clonality at a global level. We show that the S. maltophilia complex is divided into 23 monophyletic lineages, most of which harbour strains of all degrees of human virulence. Lineage Sm6 comprises the highest rate of human-associated strains, linked to key virulence and resistance genes. Transmission analysis identifies potential outbreak events of genetically closely related strains isolated within days or weeks in the same hospitals.

Glycosyltransferase cascades for natural product glycosylation: Use of plant instead of bacterial sucrose synthases improves the UDP-glucose recycling from sucrose and UDP.

Natural product glycosylations by Leloir glycosyltransferases (GTs) require expensive nucleotide-activated sugars as substrates. Sucrose synthase (SuSy) converts sucrose and uridine 5'-diphosphate (UDP) into UDP-glucose. Coupling of SuSy and GT reactions in one-pot cascade transformations creates a UDP cycle, which regenerates the UDP-glucose continuously and so makes it an expedient donor for glucoside production. Here we compare SuSys with divergent kinetic characteristics for UDP-glucose recycling in the synthesis of the natural C-glucoside nothofagin. Development of a fast reversed-phase ion-pairing HPLC method, quantifying all relevant reactants from the coupled conversion in a single run, was key to dissect the main factors of recycling efficiency. Limitations due to high KM , both for UDP and sucrose, were revealed for the bacterial SuSy from Acidithiobacillus caldus. The L637M-T640V double mutant of this SuSy with a 60-fold reduced KM for UDP substantially improved UDP-glucose recycling. The SuSy from Glycine max (soybean) was nevertheless the most active enzyme at the UDP (≤ 0.5 mM) and sucrose (≤ 1 M) concentrations used. It was also unexpectedly stable at up to 50°C where spontaneous decomposition of UDP-glucose started to become problematic. The herein gained in-depth understanding of requirements for UDP-glucose regeneration supports development of efficient GT-SuSy cascades.

Sequence determinants of nucleotide binding in Sucrose Synthase: improving the affinity of a bacterial Sucrose Synthase for UDP by introducing plant residues.

Sucrose Synthase (SuSy) catalyzes the reversible conversion of sucrose and a nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) into NDP-glucose and fructose. Biochemical characterization of several plant and bacterial SuSys has revealed that the eukaryotic enzymes preferentially use UDP whereas prokaryotic SuSys prefer ADP as acceptor. In this study, SuSy from the bacterium Acidithiobacillus caldus, which has a higher affinity for ADP as reflected by the 25-fold lower Km value compared to UDP, was used as a test case to scrutinize the effect of introducing plant residues at positions in a putative nucleotide binding motif surrounding the nucleobase ring of NDP. All eight single to sextuple mutants had similar activities as the wild-type enzyme but significantly reduced Km values for UDP (up to 60 times). In addition, we recognized that substrate inhibition by UDP is introduced by a methionine at position 637. The affinity for ADP also increased for all but one variant, although the improvement was much smaller compared to UDP. Further characterization of a double mutant also revealed more than 2-fold reduction in Km values for CDP and GDP. This demonstrates the general impact of the motif on nucleotide binding. Furthermore, this research also led to the establishment of a bacterial SuSy variant that is suitable for the recycling of UDP during glycosylation reactions. The latter was successfully demonstrated by combining this variant with a glycosyltransferase in a one-pot reaction for the production of the C-glucoside nothofagin, a health-promoting flavonoid naturally found in rooibos (tea).

Screening of recombinant glycosyltransferases reveals the broad acceptor specificity of stevia UGT-76G1.

UDP-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) are a promising class of biocatalysts that offer a sustainable alternative for chemical glycosylation of natural products. In this study, we aimed to characterize plant-derived UGTs from the GT-1 family with an emphasis on their acceptor promiscuity and their potential application in glycosylation processes. Recombinant expression in E. coli provided sufficient amounts of enzyme for the in-depth characterization of the salicylic acid UGT from Capsella rubella (UGT-SACr) and the stevia UGT from Stevia rebaudiana (UGT-76G1Sr). The latter was found to have a remarkably broad specificity with activities on a wide diversity of structures, from aliphatic and branched alcohols, over small phenolics to larger flavonoids, terpenoids and even higher glycoside compounds. As an example for its industrial potential, the glycosylation of curcumin was thoroughly evaluated. Under optimized conditions, 96% of curcumin was converted within 24h into the corresponding curcumin ß-glycosides. In addition, the reaction was performed in a coupled system with sucrose synthase from Glycine max, to enable the cost-efficient (re)generation of UDP-Glc from sucrose as abundant and renewable resource.

Sucrose synthase: A unique glycosyltransferase for biocatalytic glycosylation process development.

Sucrose synthase (SuSy, EC 2.4.1.13) is a glycosyltransferase (GT) long known from plants and more recently discovered in bacteria. The enzyme catalyzes the reversible transfer of a glucosyl moiety between fructose and a nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) (sucrose+NDP↔NDP-glucose+fructose). The equilibrium for sucrose conversion is pH dependent, and pH values between 5.5 and 7.5 promote NDP-glucose formation. The conversion of a bulk chemical to high-priced NDP-glucose in a one-step reaction provides the key aspect for industrial interest. NDP-sugars are important as such and as key intermediates for glycosylation reactions by highly selective Leloir GTs. SuSy has gained renewed interest as industrially attractive biocatalyst, due to substantial scientific progresses achieved in the last few years. These include biochemical characterization of bacterial SuSys, overproduction of recombinant SuSys, structural information useful for design of tailor-made catalysts, and development of one-pot SuSy-GT cascade reactions for production of several relevant glycosides. These advances could pave the way for the application of Leloir GTs to be used in cost-effective processes. This review provides a framework for application requirements, focusing on catalytic properties, heterologous enzyme production and reaction engineering. The potential of SuSy biocatalysis will be presented based on various biotechnological applications: NDP-sugar synthesis; sucrose analog synthesis; glycoside synthesis by SuSy-GT cascade reactions.

Identification of sucrose synthase in nonphotosynthetic bacteria and characterization of the recombinant enzymes.

Sucrose synthase (SuSy) catalyzes the reversible conversion of sucrose and a nucleoside diphosphate into fructose and nucleotide (NDP)-glucose. To date, only SuSy's from plants and cyanobacteria, both photosynthetic organisms, have been characterized. Here, four prokaryotic SuSy enzymes from the nonphotosynthetic organisms Nitrosomonas Europaea (SuSyNe), Acidithiobacillus caldus (SuSyAc), Denitrovibrio acetiphilus (SusyDa), and Melioribacter roseus (SuSyMr) were recombinantly expressed in Escherichia coli and thoroughly characterized. The purified enzymes were found to display high-temperature optima (up to 80 °C), high activities (up to 125 U/mg), and high thermostability (up to 15 min at 60 °C). Furthermore, SuSyAc, SuSyNe, and SuSyDa showed a clear preference for ADP as nucleotide, as opposed to plant SuSy's which prefer UDP. A structural and mutational analysis was performed to elucidate the difference in NDP preference between eukaryotic and prokaryotic SuSy's. Finally, the physiological relevance of this enzyme specificity is discussed in the context of metabolic pathways and genomic organization.

The quest for a thermostable sucrose phosphorylase reveals sucrose 6'-phosphate phosphorylase as a novel specificity.

Sucrose phosphorylase is a promising biocatalyst for the glycosylation of a wide range of compounds, but its industrial application has been hampered by the low thermostability of known representatives. Hence, in this study, the putative sucrose phosphorylase from the thermophile Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum was recombinantly expressed and fully characterised. The enzyme showed significant activity on sucrose (optimum at 55 °C), and with a melting temperature of 79 °C and a half-life of 60 h at the industrially relevant temperature of 60 °C, it is far more stable than known sucrose phosphorylases. Substrate screening and detailed kinetic characterisation revealed however a preference for sucrose 6'-phosphate over sucrose. The enzyme can thus be considered as a sucrose 6'-phosphate phosphorylase, a specificity not yet reported to date. Homology modelling and mutagenesis pointed out particular residues (Arg134 and His344) accounting for the difference in specificity. Moreover, phylogenetic and sequence analysis suggest that glycoside hydrolase 13 subfamily 18 might harbour even more specificities. In addition, the second gene residing in the same operon as sucrose 6'-phosphate phosphorylase was identified as well, and found to be a phosphofructokinase. The concerted action of both these enzymes implies a new pathway for the breakdown of sucrose, in which the reaction products end up at different stages of the glycolysis.