Lifestyle and horizontal gene transfer- mediated evolution of Mucispirillum schaedleri, a core member of the murine gut microbiota

Alexander Loy, Carina Pfann, Michaela Steinberger, Buck Hanson, Simone Herp, Sandrine Brugiroux, João Carlos Gomes Neto, Mark V. Boekschoten, Clarissa Schwab, Tim Urich, Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, Thomas Rattei, Bärbel Stecher, David Berry

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

179 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mucispirillum schaedleri is an abundant inhabitant of the intestinal mucus layer of rodents and other animals and has been suggested to be a pathobiont, a commensal that plays a role in disease. In order to gain insights into its lifestyle, we analyzed the genome and transcriptome of M. schaedleri ASF 457 and performed physiological experiments to test traits predicted by its genome. Although described as a mucus inhabitant, M. schaedleri has limited capacity for degrading host-derived mucosal glycans and other complex polysaccharides. Additionally, M. schaedleri reduces nitrate and expresses systems for scavenging oxygen and reactive oxygen species in vivo, which may account for its localization close to the mucosal tissue and expansion during inflammation. Also of note, M. schaedleri harbors a type VI secretion system and putative effector proteins and can modify gene expression in mucosal tissue, suggesting intimate interactions with its host and a possible role in inflammation. The M. schaedleri genome has been shaped by extensive horizontal gene transfer, primarily from intestinal Epsilon- and Deltaproteobacteria, indicating that horizontal gene transfer has played a key role in defining its niche in the gut ecosystem.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere00171
JournalmSystems
Volume2
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 2017

Keywords

  • DNRA
  • Deferribacteres
  • Fluorescence in situ hybridization
  • Gut microbiota
  • Helicobacter
  • Metatranscriptomics

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Microbiology
  • Physiology
  • Biochemistry
  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Modeling and Simulation
  • Molecular Biology
  • Genetics
  • Computer Science Applications

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