Intracellular niche-specific profiling reveals transcriptional adaptations required for the cytosolic lifestyle of <i>Salmonella enterica</i>



Powers, TuShun R, Haeberle, Amanda L, Predeus, Alexander V ORCID: 0000-0002-2750-1599, Hammarlof, Disa L, Cundiff, Jennifer A, Saldana-Ahuactzi, Zeus, Hokamp, Karsten, Hinton, Jay CD ORCID: 0000-0003-2671-6026 and Knodler, Leigh A
(2021) Intracellular niche-specific profiling reveals transcriptional adaptations required for the cytosolic lifestyle of <i>Salmonella enterica</i>. PLOS PATHOGENS, 17 (8). e1009280-.

Access the full-text of this item by clicking on the Open Access link.

Abstract

Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Typhimurium) is a zoonotic pathogen that causes diarrheal disease in humans and animals. During salmonellosis, S. Typhimurium colonizes epithelial cells lining the gastrointestinal tract. S. Typhimurium has an unusual lifestyle in epithelial cells that begins within an endocytic-derived Salmonella-containing vacuole (SCV), followed by escape into the cytosol, epithelial cell lysis and bacterial release. The cytosol is a more permissive environment than the SCV and supports rapid bacterial growth. The physicochemical conditions encountered by S. Typhimurium within the epithelial cytosol, and the bacterial genes required for cytosolic colonization, remain largely unknown. Here we have exploited the parallel colonization strategies of S. Typhimurium in epithelial cells to decipher the two niche-specific bacterial virulence programs. By combining a population-based RNA-seq approach with single-cell microscopic analysis, we identified bacterial genes with cytosol-induced or vacuole-induced expression signatures. Using these genes as environmental biosensors, we defined that Salmonella is exposed to oxidative stress and iron and manganese deprivation in the cytosol and zinc and magnesium deprivation in the SCV. Furthermore, iron availability was critical for optimal S. Typhimurium replication in the cytosol, as well as entC, fepB, soxS, mntH and sitA. Virulence genes that are typically associated with extracellular bacteria, namely Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI1) and SPI4, showed increased expression in the cytosol compared to vacuole. Our study reveals that the cytosolic and vacuolar S. Typhimurium virulence gene programs are unique to, and tailored for, residence within distinct intracellular compartments. This archetypical vacuole-adapted pathogen therefore requires extensive transcriptional reprogramming to successfully colonize the mammalian cytosol.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Hela Cells, Cytosol, Humans, Salmonella enterica, Salmonella Infections, Bacterial Proteins, Adaptation, Physiological, Virulence, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Genomic Islands, RNA-Seq
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 01 Sep 2021 08:28
Last Modified: 19 Oct 2023 08:47
DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1009280
Open Access URL: https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id...
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3135428