First microbiota assessments of children's paddling pool waters evaluated using 16S rRNA gene-based metagenome analysis.

Insufficient chloric sterilization of children's paddling pool waters increases the risk of diarrheal illness. Therefore, we investigated the microbiota changes after children use pools. First, we applied 16S rRNA gene-based metagenome analysis to understand the dynamics of microbiota in pool water, especially with respect to the bio-contamination by potential pathogens. Proteobacteria were major taxa detected in every pool water sample after children spent time in the pool. In more detail, Gammaproteobacteria comprised the dominant class, which was followed by Betaproteobacteria. Five phyla, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, Actinobacteria and Deinococcus-Thermus phyla were minor groups. The pool water microbiota are likely to be a consortium of intestinal and skin microbiota from humans. Interestingly, the ratio of Gammaproteobacteria and Betaproteobacteria differed according to the age of the children who used the pool, which means the pool water was additionally contaminated by soil microbiota as a result of the children's behavior. Furthermore, potential pathogens, such as Campylobacter spp., Comamonas testosteroni and Burkholderia pseudomallei, were also found. Considering the standard plate counts, the abundances of these human pathogens are unlikely to be a sufficiently infectious dose. We suggest the importance of sanitary measures in paddling pool waters to reduce bio-contamination from both humans and the environment.

Phylogeny and functions of bacterial communities associated with field-grown rice shoots.

Metagenomic analysis was applied to bacterial communities associated with the shoots of two field-grown rice cultivars, Nipponbare and Kasalath. In both cultivars, shoot microbiomes were dominated by Alphaproteobacteria (51-52%), Actinobacteria (11-15%), Gammaproteobacteria (9-10%), and Betaproteobacteria (4-10%). Compared with other rice microbiomes (root, rhizosphere, and phyllosphere) in public databases, the shoot microbiomes harbored abundant genes for C1 compound metabolism and 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylate catabolism, but fewer genes for indole-3-acetic acid production and nitrogen fixation. Salicylate hydroxylase was detected in all microbiomes, except the rhizosphere. These genomic features facilitate understanding of plant-microbe interactions and biogeochemical metabolism in rice shoots.

The genotype of the calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase gene (CCaMK) determines bacterial community diversity in rice roots under paddy and upland field conditions.

The effects of the Oryza sativa calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase OsCCaMK genotype (dominant homozygous [D], heterozygous [H], recessive homozygous [R]) on rice root-associated bacteria, including endophytes and epiphytes, were examined by using a Tos17 rice mutant line under paddy and upland field conditions. Roots were sampled at the flowering stage and were subjected to clone library analyses. The relative abundance of Alphaproteobacteria was noticeably decreased in R plants under both paddy and upland conditions (0.8% and 3.0%, respectively) relative to those in D plants (10.3% and 17.4%, respectively). Population shifts of the Sphingomonadales and Rhizobiales were mainly responsible for this low abundance in R plants. The abundance of Anaerolineae (Chloroflexi) and Clostridia (Firmicutes) was increased in R plants under paddy conditions. The abundance of a subpopulation of Actinobacteria (Saccharothrix spp. and unclassified Actinosynnemataceae) was increased in R plants under upland conditions. Principal coordinate analysis revealed unidirectional community shifts in relation to OsCCaMK gene dosage under both conditions. In addition, shoot length, tiller number, and plant weight decreased as the OsCCaMK gene dosage decreased under upland conditions. These results suggest significant impacts of OsCCaMK on both the diversity of root-associated bacteria and rice plant growth under both paddy and upland field conditions.

Complete nucleotide sequence of TOL plasmid pDK1 provides evidence for evolutionary history of IncP-7 catabolic plasmids.

To understand the mechanisms for structural diversification of Pseudomonas-derived toluene-catabolic (TOL) plasmids, the complete sequence of a self-transmissible plasmid pDK1 with a size of 128,921 bp from Pseudomonas putida HS1 was determined. Comparative analysis revealed that (i) pDK1 consisted of a 75.6-kb IncP-7 plasmid backbone and 53.2-kb accessory gene segments that were bounded by transposon-associated regions, (ii) the genes for conjugative transfer of pDK1 were highly similar to those of MOB(H) group of mobilizable plasmids, and (iii) the toluene-catabolic (xyl) gene clusters of pDK1 were derived through homologous recombination, transposition, and site-specific recombination from the xyl gene clusters homologous to another TOL plasmid, pWW53. The minireplicons of pDK1 and its related IncP-7 plasmids, pWW53 and pCAR1, that contain replication and partition genes were maintained in all of six Pseudomonas strains tested, but not in alpha- or betaproteobacterial strains. The recipient host range of conjugative transfer of pDK1 was, however, limited to two Pseudomonas strains. These results indicate that IncP-7 plasmids are essentially narrow-host-range and self-transmissible plasmids that encode MOB(H) group-related transfer functions and that the host range of IncP-7-specified conjugative transfer was, unlike the situation in other well-known plasmids, narrower than that of its replication.

Complete genome sequence of Finegoldia magna, an anaerobic opportunistic pathogen.

Finegoldia magna (formerly Peptostreptococcus magnus), a member of the Gram-positive anaerobic cocci (GPAC), is a commensal bacterium colonizing human skin and mucous membranes. Moreover, it is also recognized as an opportunistic pathogen responsible for various infectious diseases. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of F. magna ATCC 29328. The genome consists of a 1,797,577 bp circular chromosome and an 189,163 bp plasmid (pPEP1). The metabolic maps constructed based on the genome information confirmed that most F. magna strains cannot ferment most sugars, except fructose, and have various aminopeptidase activities. Three homologs of albumin-binding protein, a known virulence factor useful for antiphagocytosis, are encoded on the chromosome, and one albumin-binding protein homolog is encoded on the plasmid. A unique feature of the genome is that F. magna encodes many sortase genes, of which substrates may be involved in bacterial pathogenesis, such as antiphagocytosis and adherence to the host cell. The plasmid pPEP1 encodes seven sortase and seven substrate genes, whereas the chromosome encodes four sortase and 19 substrate genes. These plasmid-encoded sortases may play important roles in the pathogenesis of F. magna by enriching the variety of cell wall anchored surface proteins.

A tandem gene duplication followed by recruitment of a retrotransposon created the paralogous bucentaur gene (bcntp97) in the ancestral ruminant.

Retrotransposable element-1 (RTE-1) is a class of long interspersed nucleotide elements that contain in its open reading frame an apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease domain (AP-END) and a reverse transcriptase domain. Ruminants have a clade-specific RTE-1 (BovB/RTE). The bovine bcnt gene (bucentaur or craniofacial developmental protein 1) has a duplicated paralog (bcntp97) in tandem that recruited an AP-END of BovB/RTE as a coding exon (RTE exon). We obtained sequence of the bcnt region from several animals and showed that other ruminants also have the bcntp97 with a conserved RTE exon while camels and pigs do not. Genomic Southern analysis showed that camels and pigs have multiple bcnt-related sequences but not BovB/RTE which bovines and lesser mouse deer have abundantly. These results indicate that the bcnt gene duplication followed by the creation of bcntp97 including recruitment of the RTE exon occurred in the ancestral ruminant about 55 MYA. The indication of time frame is supported by a phylogenetic analysis. Taken together with a result of differential tissue expression of the two bcnt paralogs, we conclude that bcntp97 was created concurrently with the early radiation of BovB/RTE in an ancestral ruminant and then acquired a novel function.

Complete genome sequence of Clostridium perfringens, an anaerobic flesh-eater.

Clostridium perfringens is a Gram-positive anaerobic spore-forming bacterium that causes life-threatening gas gangrene and mild enterotoxaemia in humans, although it colonizes as normal intestinal flora of humans and animals. The organism is known to produce a variety of toxins and enzymes that are responsible for the severe myonecrotic lesions. Here we report the complete 3,031,430-bp sequence of C. perfringens strain 13 that comprises 2,660 protein coding regions and 10 rRNA genes, showing pronounced low overall G + C content (28.6%). The genome contains typical anaerobic fermentation enzymes leading to gas production but no enzymes for the tricarboxylic acid cycle or respiratory chain. Various saccharolytic enzymes were found, but many enzymes for amino acid biosynthesis were lacking in the genome. Twenty genes were newly identified as putative virulence factors of C. perfringens, and we found a total of five hyaluronidase genes that will also contribute to virulence. The genome analysis also proved an efficient method for finding four members of the two-component VirR/VirS regulon that coordinately regulates the pathogenicity of C. perfringens. Clearly, C. perfringens obtains various essential materials from the host by producing several degradative enzymes and toxins, resulting in massive destruction of the host tissues.