Staphylococcus aureus, est un pathogène humain majeur responsable d’infections nosocomiales et communautaires. Avec l’utilisation excessive des antibactériens, l’incidence et l’émergence de souches de S. aureus multi-résistantes aux antibiotiques ont augmenté rapidement depuis plusieurs années et constituent un véritable problème de santé publique. Le succès de S. aureus en tant que pathogène est lié à sa capacité à s’adapter rapidement à un nouvel environnement et à produire un arsenal de facteurs de virulence dont l’expression fait intervenir des protéines mais également des ARN régulateurs (ARNrég). Au cours de cette thèse, nous avons montré que les ARNrég sprG1 et SprF1 constitue un système toxine-antitoxine (STA) de type I fonctionnel où sprG1 code pour deux peptides toxiques. En condition normale de croissance, l’expression de la toxine est régulée par l’antitoxine SprF1 au niveau transcriptionnel et/ou post-transcriptionnel et traductionnel, permettant au pathogène S. aureus de croître normalement. En revanche, lorsque la bactérie est confrontée à une carence nutritive globale, l’expression de l’antitoxine est réprimée, laissant ainsi la toxine sprG1 s’accumuler dans la cellule et traduire les peptides toxiques PepG144 et PepG131, responsables de la stase bactérienne. Les deux peptides sécrétés sont capables de lyser les bactéries compétitrices présentes dans le milieu et les érythrocytes humains. Nous avons également montré, qu’en condition de stress hyperosmotique, SprF1 fixe directement les ribosomes, probablement par l’intermédiaire d’un ou de deux sites de fixation aux ribosomes, afin de réguler la synthèse protéique globale et de favoriser la persistance de S. aureus. Ces résultats montrent que SprF1 appartient à une nouvelle classe émergente d’ARNrég régulant la traduction par fixation directe sur le ribosome. Le STA sprG1/SprF1 est le premier exemple de STA de type I où l’antitoxine est le principal acteur de la fonction biologique. / Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen responsible for nosocomial and community-acquired diseases. With the excessive use of antibiotics, incidence and emergence of multidrug-resistant strains of S. aureus have rapidly increased over the last decade and constitute a serious public health concern. The success of S. aureus as a pathogen is due to its ability to adapt quickly to new environment and to produce an arsenal of virulence factors whose expressions are regulated by proteins and regulatory RNA (regRNA). During my PhD thesis, we showed that RNAs sprG1 and SprF1 constitute a functional type I toxin-antitoxin system (TAS) where sprG1 encodes two toxic peptides. During normal growth conditions, toxin expression is regulated by the antitoxin SprF1 at transcriptional and/or post-transcriptional and translational level, allowing the pathogen to grow. Conversaly, when bacteria are confronted to global nutritive starvation, the antitoxin expression is repressed. This allows accumulation of the sprG1 toxin in cell and translation of both toxic peptides, PepG144 and PepG131, responsible for bacterial stasis. Interestingly, both secreted peptides are able to lyse competitor bacteria in the medium and human erythrocytes. We also showed that upon hyperosmotic stress, SprF1 directly binds ribosomes, probably though one or two ribosome-binding sites, to regulate overall protein synthesis and promote S. aureus persistence. These results suggest that SprF1 belongs to the new emerging class of regRNA regulating translation by direct ribosome-binding. The sprG1/SprF1 TAS is the first example of type I TAS where antitoxin is the leading player of the biological function.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医科学) / 甲第19631号 / 医科博第69号 / 新制||医科||5(附属図書館) / 32667 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医科学専攻 / (主査)教授 中川 一路, 教授 岩井 一宏, 教授 西渕 光昭 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

<p>The <em>Sinorhizobium meliloti</em> genome consists of 6204 predicted protein-coding regions of which approximately 2000 are proteins of unknown function (PUFs). To identify functions of <em>S. meliloti</em> PUFs, we employed the FRT/Flp recombination system to delete large gene clusters and then screened for phenotypes. Large-scale deletions have been mainly used to define minimal gene sets that contain only those genes that are essential and sufficient to sustain a functioning cell. To adapt FRT/Flp for use in <em>S. meliloti</em>, we used an already constructed pTH1522-derived integration gene library of the <em>S. meliloti</em> genome (pTH1522 carries a single FRT site). A second FRT site was inserted at defined locations in the genome through integration of a second plasmid (pTH1937) that also carries a single FRT site. Here we outline how this Flp/FRT system was used to delete defined regions and hence generate multiple gene knock-out mutants. This system was used to delete 32 and 56 defined regions from the 1340 Kb pSymA and 1678 Kb pSymB megaplasmid, respectively. The structures of the resulting megaplasmid deletion mutants were confirmed by PCR analysis. Carbohydrate and nitrogen utilization phenotypes were associated with the deletion of specific regions. Deleting large, regions of the genome helped us to identify phenotypes such as inability to grow on minimal media with fucose, maltotriose, maltitol, trehalose, palatinose, lactulose and galactosamine as sole carbon source. For several FRT-flanked regions, few or no recombinants were recovered which suggested the presence of essential genes. Through this strategy, two essential genes <em>tRNA^arg </em>and<em> engA</em> located on the pSymB and three toxin/antitoxin-like systems, <em>sma0471</em>/<em>sma0473</em>, <em>sma2105</em> and <em>sma2230</em>/<em>sma2231</em> on pSymA megaplasmid were identified.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Bacterial persistence is considered as one of the primary reason for antibiotic tolerance besides genetically acquired antibiotic resistance. Persisters are the subpopulation of a clonal bacterial population, which can survive environmental extremes and become invulnerable to stresses due to limited metabolic activities and physiological functions. Cognate toxin and antitoxin (TA) pairs, which are transcribed simultaneously from the same or different operons within the bacterial chromosomes or plasmids, play an important role for bacterial survival during stressful growth environments. Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 is one of the most versatile microorganisms in the environment. Despite its ubiquitous presence, no studies have shown the differential expression pattern of its toxin-antitoxins, and persistence related genes. The purpose of the following study is to analyze differential expression of P. aeruginosa PAO1 type II toxin-antitoxins and persistence related genes under different growth conditions and to show how their stoichiometric ratio changes during different growth conditions. Differential expression analysis indicated that the toxins and antitoxin pairs behave differently under different growth conditions. In addition, the genes related to persistence presented relatively consistent differential expression pattern under different growth environment. / Master of Science / Bacterial persistence is one of the main reason for antibiotic tolerance and recurrent infections. Toxin-antitoxin molecules play an important role during bacterial persistence. Change in the expression of toxin, antitoxins, and persistence related genes and the ratio of the toxin to antitoxin mRNA molecules are important for bacterial survival in stressful environments. Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 is one of most ubiquitous bacteria and responsible for recurrent infection in patients with weaker and compromised immunity. This mRNA sequence (RNA-Seq) analysis study of P. aeruginosa PAO1 showed different expression levels of toxin, antitoxin, and persistence related genes in various stressful growth conditions. This expression also showed the different ratios of the toxin to antitoxin mRNA molecules under different stress conditions. These implicate the different hypothetical roles of these toxin and antitoxin molecules in different growth conditions.

Les métallo-b-lactamases (MBL) acquises constituent une menace sanitaire par risqué d’impasse thérapeutique dans les infections causées par les bacilles à Gram négatif, en particulier lorsque ces bactéries produisent une b-lactamase à spectre étendu (BLSE). La MBL VIM-1 est une carbapénémase qui hydrolyse toutes les β-lactamines, à l’exception des monobactames. Cette enzyme a émergé en Grèce où elle est désormais endémique chez les entérobactéries. Six souches de bacilles à Gram négatif produisant une carbapénémase ont été isolées chez un même patient qui avait été rapatrié de Grèce. Trois de ces souches, Providencia stuartii (Ps), Proteus mirabilis (Pm) et Escherichia coli (Ec), produisaient la MBL VIM-1 et la BLSE SHV-5. Dans chacune de ces trois souches, les gènes blaVIM-1 et blaSHV-5 étaient portés par un plasmide transférable par conjugaison in vitro. Les plasmides extraits des transconjugants présentaient le même profil de restriction et portaient un intégron de classe 1 identique dans lequel le gène blaVIM-1 était intégré. Nous avons émis l’hypothèse qu’un plasmide codant pour VIM-1 et SHV-5 avait été transféré de la souche Ps vers les souches Pm et Ec dans le tube digestif du patient et avons reproduit ce transfert in vivo dans un modèle de souris gnotoxéniques. Au cours de cette expérience, le plasmide codant pour VIM-1 et SHV-5 a été transféré avec succès de la souche Ps vers la souche réceptrice E. coli J53, en dehors de toute pression de sélection par les antibiotiques. Nous avons ensuite analysé la séquence complète du plasmide pTC2 extrait d’un transconjugant obtenu par conjugaion in vivo. Ce plasmide de type co-intégrat (IncA/C, IncR) de 180kb possédait un squelette de type IncA/C et une région de multirésistance (MDR1) au sein de laquelle était intégré un fragment de type IncR de 13kb. L’analyse de cette séquence nous a permis d’identifier un système de transfert de type IncA/C complet et intact et différents types de systèmes de maintien, à la fois au sein du squelette IncA/C et au sein du fragment IncR. La région mosaïque MDR1 contenait neuf séquences d’insertion (sept copies de l’IS26, une IS1 et une IS6100), 10 gènes de résistance aux antibiotiques et l’opéron mer de résistance au mercure qui étaient intégrés dans des transposons unitaires, des transposons composites ou des intégrons. Le plasmide pTC2 cumule des propriétés qui font de lui un véhicule performant de la résistance aux antibiotiques : un large spectre d’hôte, de bonnes capacités de transfert, de bonnes capacités de maintien dans une population bactérienne, une grande plasticité de sa région MDR1 et une grande variété de gènes de résistance. / Acquired metallo-b-lactamases (MBLs) represent a threat for the treatment of infections caused by Gram-negative bacteria, particularly by enterobacteria that already produce extended-spectrum b-lactamases (ESBL). VIM-1 MBL, which is a carbapenemase that can hydrolyze all classes of β-lactam antibiotics except monobactams, has emerged in Greece and is now commonly found in Enterobacteriaeae. Six carbapenemase-producing strains of Gram-negative bacilli were isolated from a unique patient transferred from Greece to a French hospital. Three of these strains, Providencia stuartii (Ps), Proteus mirabilis (Pm) and Escherichia coli (Ec) strains, were shown to produce the MBL VIM-1 and the ESBL SHV-5. In each of these three strains, the blaVIM-1 gene was carried by a plasmid transferable by in vitro conjugation. The plasmids extracted from the transconjugants displayed a unique restriction profile and harboured identical VIM-1-containing class 1 integrons. Considering the hypothesis that this VIM-1 plasmid had probably been transferred from the Ps strain to the Ec and Pm strains, we performed in vivo conjugation assays in the digestive tract of gnotobiotic mice colonized with E. coli J53, to demonstrate that the VIM-1 plasmid harboured by strain Ps was transferable in vivo, in absence of antibiotic pressure. We determined the complete nucleotide sequence of the VIM-1-encoding plasmid pTC2, which was isolated in a Greek Providencia stuartii multiresistant strain. This 180-kb plasmid was found to be a multireplicon plasmid (IncA/C, IncR), with a large IncA/C backbone and a mosaic multidrug resistance (MDR1) region, in which was inserted a 13-kb IncR fragment. A CD-search-based annotation of the plasmid allowed the identification of a complete IncA/C-type transfer system and of several putative maintenance modules, either on the IncA/C backbone, and on the IncR fragment. The complex MDR1 region contained nine insertion sequences (seven copies of the IS26, one IS1 and one IS6100), 10 resistance genes and a mercury resistance operon integrated either into unit transposons, composite transposons or integrons. The broad-host range, the transfer capacities, the stability, the high plasticity of the MDR1 region combined to the variety of resistance genes make pTC2 a superspreader of resistance determinants.

The enzymatic conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars is a promising approach for producing renewable fuels and chemicals. However, the cost of the fungal enzymes usually employed in this process remains a significant bottleneck for manufacturing low value-added products from biomass. A potential route to increase hydrolysis yield, and thereby to reduce hydrolysis cost, would be to supplement the fungal enzymes with their lacking enzymatic activities, such as Beta-glucosidase. To produce such enzymes at a low cost, the bacterium Escherichia coli is a strong contender, owing to its ability to grow rapidly on simple and inexpensive media, and to achieve high levels of productivity. Nevertheless, there is hardly any techno-economic analysis of low-value protein production using E. coli in the literature, and, more generally, there are very few techno-economic analyses of low-value protein production ever reported, with the exception of cellulase production by Trichoderma reesei. In particular, the biotechnological application of recombinant E. coli platforms equipped with toxin-antitoxin systems to ensure plasmid stability remains largely unexplored, and its economic impact, unknown. As such, this work presents a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of the industrial production of a low-cost enzyme (Beta-glucosidase) using both E. coli BL21(DE3) and E. coli SE1, a modified BL21(DE3) strain equipped with a toxin-antitoxin system for plasmid maintenance. Moreover, this study describes the actual cloning and expression of a Beta-glucosidase enzyme into E. coli BL21(DE3) and E. coli SE1, and the development of a novel inoculum production scheme that exploits the features of the SE1 strain, based on repeatedly recycling a fraction of the inoculum cells. The results of the techno-economic analysis project an enzyme production cost of 316 US$/kg in the baseline scenario, which is considerably higher than the values reported in the literature for the fungal cocktails. The facility-dependent cost, which is strongly associated with the cost of equipment, accounts for roughly half of the estimated cost, while the cost of raw materials, especially IPTG and glucose, and the cost of consumables are all quite significant. However, the simulation of multiple scenarios and optimization measures suggest that the enzyme cost can be substantially reduced on many fronts, such as: substituting the carbon source for cheaper alternatives; reducing the amount of IPTG used for induction; using an E. coli strain capable of extracellular production; or eliminating the steps of concentration and stabilization of the enzyme, in the case of on-site enzyme utilization. Developing E. coli strains capable of high rEnzyme volumetric productivities can also significantly reduce the cost of the enzyme, up to approximately 135 US$/kg in the scenario of highest productivity. In addition, based on the experimental results with the E. coli SE1 system, an inoculum recycle strategy that avoids the need of an extensive seed train was simulated, resulting in a significant reduction of the enzyme cost. Finally, the combination of multiple process improvements could lead to an enzyme cost near 20 US$/kg of protein, which comes close to the cost of fungal cellulases and demonstrates the great biotechnological potential of recombinant E. coli platforms. / A conversão enzimática de biomassa lignocelulósica em açúcares fermentescíveis é uma via promissora para a produção de combustíveis e produtos químicos renováveis. No entanto, o custo das enzimas fúngicas usualmente empregadas nesse processo permanece um gargalo significativo para a fabricação de produtos de baixo valor agregado a partir de biomassa. Uma possível estratégia para aumentar o rendimento da hidrólise e, assim, reduzir seu custo, seria suplementar as enzimas fúngicas com suas atividades enzimáticas deficientes, tais como a enzima Beta-glicosidase. Para produzir tais enzimas a um baixo custo, a bactéria Escherichia coli é uma forte candidata, dada a sua capacidade de crescer rapidamente em meios simples e baratos e de alcançar altos níveis de produtividade. No entanto, na literatura quase não há análises técnico-econômicas de produção de proteínas de baixo valor agregado utilizando E. coli e, de forma mais geral, há muito poucas análises técnico-econômicas de produção de proteínas de baixo valor agregado publicadas, com exceção da produção de celulases por Trichoderma reesei. Em particular, a aplicação biotecnológica de plataformas recombinantes baseadas em E. coli dotadas de sistemas toxina-antitoxina para garantir a estabilidade plasmidial segue em larga medida inexplorada, e seu impacto econômico, desconhecido. Assim, este trabalho apresenta uma análise técnico-econômica abrangente da produção industrial de uma enzima de baixo custo (Beta-glicosidase) usando E. coli BL21 (DE3) e E. coli SE1, uma cepa de BL21 (DE3) modificada que possui um sistema toxina-antitoxina para manutenção plasmidial. Além disso, este estudo descreve a clonagem e expressão de uma Beta-glicosidase em E. coli BL21 (DE3) e E. coli SE1, assim como o desenvolvimento de um novo método de produção de inóculo que tira proveito das peculiaridades da linhagem SE1, baseado em reciclar repetidamente uma fração das células do inóculo. Os resultados da análise técnico-econômica apontam para um custo de produção da enzima de 316 US$/kg no cenário-base, valor consideravelmente superior àqueles relatados na literatura para os coquetéis fúngicos. Os custos de overhead da planta, que estão fortemente associados ao custo de aquisição dos equipamentos, são responsáveis por aproximadamente metade do custo total, enquanto o custo de matérias-primas, especialmente IPTG e glicose, e o custo de consumíveis são bastante significativos. Porém, a simulação de múltiplos cenários e medidas de otimização sugerem que o custo da enzima pode ser substancialmente reduzido em muitas frentes, tais como: a substituição da fonte de carbono por alternativas mais baratas; a redução da quantidade de IPTG usado para indução; a utilização de cepas capazes de produzir a enzima extracelularmente; ou a eliminação das etapas de concentração e estabilização da enzima, em caso de utilização da enzima in situ. O desenvolvimento de cepas de E. coli capazes de atingir altas produtividades volumétricas de rEnzima também pode reduzir significativamente o seu custo, chegando a US$ 135/kg no cenário de maior produtividade. Com base nos resultados experimentais com a linhagem E. coli SE1, uma estratégia de reciclagem de inóculo que evita a necessidade de um extenso trem de inoculação também foi simulada, gerando significativa diminuição do custo da enzima. Por fim, a combinação de múltiplas melhorias no processo poderia levar a um custo de enzima em torno de 20 US$/kg de proteína, valor que se aproxima do custo das celulases fúngicas e que demonstra o grande potencial biotecnológico de plataformas de expressão baseadas em E. coli recombinante.

Four type II toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems were previously identified in Burkholderia pseudomallei K96243. Type II TA toxins are able to induce cell growth arrest or death by interfering with key processes within the organism. BPSS0390-0391 is one of the TA systems previously identified and has homology to hicBA system in Acinetobacter baumannii. B. pseudomallei HicA is able to cause a reduction in the number of culturable cells after expression in E. coli. This study aimed to characterise B. pseudomallei HicA in three ways: by inducing expression of HicA in bacterial species other than E. coli, by identifying amino acids in HicA involved in toxicity and neutralisation by the antitoxin HicB and by examining the interaction of HicA with other TA antitoxins identified within B. pseudomallei genome. A broad host range plasmid encoding BPSS0390 was transformed into a range of Gram negative bacteria including Yersinia pseudotuberculosis IP32953, Vibrio vulnificus E64MW, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium SL1344 and Burkholderia thailandensis E264. Expression of BPSS0390 was toxic in all bacterial species tested, despite the presence of antitoxin BPSS0391 homologues in some species. Unregulated expression in E. coli resulted in the appearance of escape mutants encoding non-toxic variants of HicA. An alanine scanning mutagenesis study of HicA identified 20 mutants where toxicity was abolished despite high levels of expression, but identified no mutants that affected TA complex formation. Finally an existing co-expression assay was modified to examine interactions between HicA and other type II TA antitoxins in B. pseudomallei. The assay revealed no interaction between HicA and non-cognate antitoxins and clarified the role of IPTG as an inhibitor of PBAD promoter on the arabinose operon.

Uma abordagem promissora para a obtenção de coquetéis enzimáticos eficientes para a etapa de hidrólise na produção de etanol de 2ª geração é o enriquecimento em termos de atividades que lhes faltam, mas podem ser obtidas através de sistemas heterólogos. O trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o sistema toxina -antitoxina (TA) para estabilização plasmidial em E. coli na produção de expansina e endoglucanase recombinantes. Os resultados indicaram que o sistema de expressão com estabilização TA é tão eficaz quanto o dependente de antibiótico para estabilização plasmidial. Além disso, mostrou-se mais eficiente pelo fato de não permitir a sobrevivência de células sem o plasmídeo. Estudos indicaram a quantidade mínima de 0,05mM de IPTG para expressão das proteínas nesta linhagem, cerca de 20 vezes menos que a concentração usualmente aplicada no momento da indução. Sendo assim, o sistema de estabilização plasmidial TA mostrou-se uma ótima ferramenta para o desenvolvimento de uma plataforma alternativa para a produção de proteínas recombinantes. / A promising approach to obtain efficient enzyme cocktails for the hydrolysis step in the production of 2nd generation ethanol is the enrichment in terms of activities that are lacking, but can be obtained by heterologous systems. The study aimed to evaluate the toxina-antitoxin (TA) system for plasmid stabilization in E. coli in the production of recombinant expansin and endoglucanase. The results indicated that the expression system with TA stabilization is as effective as the antibiotic dependent for plasmid stabilization. Moreover, it proved to be more efficient by not allo wing the survival of cells without the plasmid. Studies have indicated the minimum amount of 0.05 mM IPTG for expression of proteins in this strain, about 20 times less than the concentration usually applied for induction. Thus, the plasmid stabilization TA system proved to be a great tool for the development of an alternative platform for producing recombinant proteins.

Non-coding RNAs are highly abundant regulators of gene expression in all kingdoms of life that often play important roles in vital cellular functions. In bacteria, small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) usually act post-transcriptionally by regulating mRNAs through base pairing within ribosome binding sites (RBS), thereby inhibiting translation initiation. tisB encodes a toxin, TisB, whose synthesis is controlled by the sRNA IstR-1. Intriguingly, IstR-1 base pairs far upstream of the RBS but nevertheless inhibits translation initiation. The tisB mRNA is unusual in that ribosomes cannot access the RBS directly, but instead need an unstructured upstream region. This is precisely where IstR-1 exerts its inhibitory effect. We propose this region to serve as a ribosome loading site (standby site) which permits ribosomes to overcome the obstacle of inhibitory RBS-containing structures. Sequence-independent ribosome binding to the standby site allows for efficient relocation to the RBS structure when it is transiently open. Thus, standby sites are translation enhancer elements. I also characterized TisB-mediated toxicity. The hydrophobic protein TisB is targeted to the inner membrane and causes damage. This decreases the intracellular ATP concentration and entails decreased  replication, transcription and translation rates. It is likely that this toxin is involved in multidrug tolerance under certain conditions. We identified the sRNA MicF as a negative regulator of lrp expression. Lrp is a global transcription factor that controls genes involved in amino acid metabolism and transport of small molecules. Interestingly, Lrp also downregulates MicF. Thus, this study established that the mutual downregulation of MicF/Lrp creates a positive feedback loop which gives a switch-like behavior important for fast adaptations.

Les systèmes toxine-antitoxine (TA) bactériens ont été découverts il y a une vingtaine d’année sur les plasmides à bas nombre de copie. Ils sont composés de deux gènes organisés en opéron, l’un codant pour une toxine stable et l’autre pour une antitoxine instable capable de neutraliser l’effet de la toxine. Les systèmes TA sont fortement représentés au sein de l’ensemble des génomes bactériens. Ils se localisent aussi bien sur des éléments génétiques mobiles (plasmides, phages, transposons,…) que dans les chromosomes, ce qui suggère que le transfert horizontal de gènes participe à leur dissémination. Le système TA ccd du plasmide F d’Escherichia coli (ccdF) est composé de l’antitoxine CcdA et de la toxine CcdB. Le système ccdF contribue à la stabilité du plasmide F en tuant les bactéries-filles n’ayant pas reçu de copies plasmidiques lors de la division bactérienne (tuerie post-ségrégationelle).<p>Au cours de ce travail, nous avons caractérisé un homologue du système toxine-antitoxine ccd du plasmide F (ccdF) qui se situe dans le chromosome de la souche pathogène E. coli O157:H7 EDL933 entre les gènes folA et apaH (ccdO157). Les systèmes ccdF et ccdO157 coexistent naturellement dans les souches d’E. coli O157:H7, le système ccdF se trouvant sur le plasmide pO157 qui dérive du plasmide F. Nos résultats montrent que l’antitoxine plasmidique CcdAF neutralise l’effet de la toxine chromosomique CcdBO157, tandis que l’antitoxine chromosomique CcdAO157 ne contrecarre pas la toxicité de la toxine plasmidique CcdBF. Nous avons également montré que le système ccdF cause une tuerie post-ségrégationelle, lorsqu’il est cloné dans un plasmide instable, dans une souche possédant le système chromosomique ccdO157. Le système ccdF est donc fonctionnel en présence de son homologue chromosomique. <p>Le système ccdO157 est absent du chromosome de la souche de laboratoire E. coli K-12 MG1655, où une région intergénique de 77 pb sépare les gènes folA et apaH. Celle-ci contient une séquence cible pour la transposition. Nous avons étudié la distribution du système ccdO157 au sein de 523 souches d’E. coli représentatives de l’ensemble des sérogroupes décrits. Nos résultats montrent que le système ccdO157 est présent au sein de souches appartenant à 47 sérogroupes différents. Nos résultats mettent en évidence la diversité de la région intergénique folA-apaH d’E. coli. Celle-ci peut contenir gènes codant pour des protéines présentant de l’homologie avec des protéines d’espèce bactériennes éloignées d’E. coli ou d’organismes eucaryotes, ainsi qu’un élément génétique mobile, l’IS621, ce qui montre que le système ccdO157 a intégré le chromosome d’E. coli via le transfert horizontal de gènes.<p> / Doctorat en Sciences / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished