Molecular evolutionary consequences of niche restriction in Francisella tularensis, a facultative intracellular pathogen.

Francisella tularensis is a potent mammalian pathogen well adapted to intracellular habitats, whereas F. novicida and F. philomiragia are less virulent in mammals and appear to have less specialized lifecycles. We explored adaptations within the genus that may be linked to increased host association, as follows. First, we determined the genome sequence of F. tularensis subsp. mediasiatica, the only subspecies that had not been previously sequenced. This genome, and those of 12 other F. tularensis isolates, were then compared to the genomes of F. novicida (three isolates) and F. philomiragia (one isolate). Signs of homologous recombination were found in approximately 19.2% of F. novicida and F. philomiragia genes, but none among F. tularensis genomes. In addition, random insertions of insertion sequence elements appear to have provided raw materials for secondary adaptive mutations in F. tularensis, e.g. for duplication of the Francisella Pathogenicity Island and multiplication of a putative glycosyl transferase gene. Further, the five major genetic branches of F. tularensis seem to have converged along independent routes towards a common gene set via independent losses of gene functions. Our observations suggest that despite an average nucleotide identity of >97%, F. tularensis and F. novicida have evolved as two distinct population lineages, the former characterized by clonal structure with weak purifying selection, the latter by more frequent recombination and strong purifying selection. F. tularensis and F. novicida could be considered the same bacterial species, given their high similarity, but based on the evolutionary analyses described in this work we propose retaining separate species names.

An animal model to study health effects during continuous low-dose exposure to the nerve agent VX.

In the present study, we have developed an animal model to study long-term health effects of continuous exposure of toxic chemical agents, in awake, freely moving rats. The aim was to evaluate the effect of low-dose exposure of the nerve agent VX, and to find specific biomarkers for intoxication. To exclude the influence of stress, we used an implanted radio-telemetric device for online registration of physiological parameters, and an osmotic pump, implanted subcutaneously, for continuous exposure of the toxic agent. Our results showed that the lowest observable effect dose of VX in Wistar rats was 5 microg/kg/24 h, after continuous exposure by the osmotic pump. Although we observed significant inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in blood and a significant decrease in body weight gain at this dose, no change in blood pressure, heart rate or respiratory rate was registered. However, a significant decrease in the thyroid hormone, free T4, was measured in blood after 8 weeks, indicating that low doses of VX might affect the thyroid function. Rats given repeated daily injections were more sensitive to VX and needed only 1/10 of the concentration to reach a similar level of AChE inhibition, compared to animals exposed by the osmotic pump. Moreover, the results showed that exposure of VX in our experimental design, does not induce an increase in corticosterone blood levels. Thus, the model used in this investigation renders minimal stress and will not cause unnecessary pain to the animals, indicating that this model could be a useful tool to study long-term effects of various toxic substances in freely moving rats.