The Genome Analysis of the Human Lung-Associated Streptomyces sp. TR1341 Revealed the Presence of Beneficial Genes for Opportunistic Colonization of Human Tissues

• Published in: Microorganisms (Basel) Vol. 9; no. 8; p. 1547
• Main Authors: Lara, Ana Catalina, Corretto, Erika, Kotrbová, Lucie, Lorenc, František, Petříčková, Kateřina, Grabic, Roman, Chroňáková, Alica
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 21.07.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: adaptations to human tissue colonization; Antibiotics; Bacteria; Bacterial infections; Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; Colonization; comparative genomics; Cytotoxicity; Endophytes; Genes; Genetic analysis; Genomes; Gram-positive bacteria; Homeostasis; human lungs; Human tissues; Immune response; Immune system; Immunomodulation; Infections; Iron; lung pathogenic actinomycetes; Lungs; Metabolites; Microorganisms; Parasitic diseases; Pathogens; Phylogeny; Plant bacterial diseases; Proteins; Respiratory diseases; respiratory tract; Secondary metabolites; Siderophores; Sputum; Streptomyces; Toxicity; Tuberculosis; Virulence; Virulence factors; Czech Republic; biosynthetic gene clusters; human lungs; secondary metabolites; adaptations to human tissue colonization; respiratory tract; Streptomyces; comparative genomics; lung pathogenic actinomycetes
• ISSN: 2076-2607; 2076-2607
• DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9081547

sp. TR1341 was isolated from the sputum of a man with a history of lung and kidney tuberculosis, recurrent respiratory infections, and COPD. It produces secondary metabolites associated with cytotoxicity and immune response modulation. In this study, we complement our previous results by identifying the genetic features associated with the production of these secondary metabolites and other characteristics that could benefit the strain during its colonization of human tissues (virulence factors, modification of the host immune response, or the production of siderophores). We performed a comparative phylogenetic analysis to identify the genetic features that are shared by environmental isolates and human respiratory pathogens. The results showed a high genomic similarity of sp. TR1341 to the plant-associated sp. endophyte_N2, inferring a soil origin of the strain. Putative virulence genes, such as mammalian cell entry ( ) genes were not detected in the TR1341's genome. The presence of a type VII secretion system, distinct from the ones found in species, suggests a different colonization strategy than the one used by other actinomycete lung pathogens. We identified a higher diversity of genes related to iron acquisition and demonstrated that the strain produces ferrioxamine B in vitro. These results indicate that TR1341 may have an advantage in colonizing environments that are low in iron, such as human tissue.