Tracking Vibrio cholerae cell-cell interactions during infection reveals bacterial population dynamics within intestinal microenvironments
Autor: | Yang Fu, John J. Mekalanos, Brian T. Ho |
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Jazyk: | angličtina |
Rok vydání: | 2018 |
Předmět: |
0301 basic medicine
030106 microbiology Virulence medicine.disease_cause Microbiology Article 03 medical and health sciences Plasmid Cholera Virology medicine Animals Secretion Colonization Pathogen Vibrio cholerae biology Type VI Secretion Systems biology.organism_classification medicine.disease Vibrio Intestines 030104 developmental biology Conjugation Genetic Host-Pathogen Interactions Parasitology Rabbits Plasmids |
Popis: | Summary Vibrio cholerae is the causative agent of the diarrheal disease cholera. Although many V. cholerae virulence factors have been studied, the role of interbacterial interactions within the host gut and their influence on colonization are poorly understood. Here, we utilized the conjugative properties of a Vibrio -specific plasmid to serve as a quantifiable genetic marker for direct contact among V. cholerae cells in the infant rabbit model for cholera. In conjunction, we also quantified contact-dependent type 6 secretion system (T6SS)-mediated killing of co-infecting V. cholerae strains. Tracking these interbacterial interactions revealed that most contact-dependent cell-cell interactions among V. cholerae occur in specific intestinal microenvironments, notably the distal small intestine and cecum, and that the T6SS confers a competitive advantage within the middle small intestine. These results support a model for V. cholerae gut colonization, which includes microenvironments where critical microbial-host and bacterial-bacterial interactions occur to facilitate colonization by this pathogen. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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