Lifestyle and Horizontal Gene Transfer- Mediated Evolution of Mucispirillum schaedleri, a Core Member of the Murine Gut Microbiota

Authors

Alexander Loy, University of Vienna
Carina Pfann, University of Vienna
Michaela Steinberger, University of Vienna
Buck Hanson, University of Vienna
Simone Herp, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
Sandrine Brugiroux, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich
João Carlos Gomes Neto, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Mark V. Boekschoten, Wageningen University
Clarissa Schwab, University of Vienna
Tim Urich, University of Vienna
Amanda E. Ramer-Tait, University of Nebraska - LincolnFollow
Thomas Rattei, University of Vienna
Bärbel Stecher, University of Munich
David Berry, University of ViennaFollow

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2017

Citation

Loy A, Pfann C, Steinberger M, Hanson B, Herp S, Brugiroux S, Gomes Neto JC, Boekschoten MV, Schwab C, Urich T, Ramer- Tait AE, Rattei T, Stecher B, Berry D. 2017. Lifestyle and horizontal gene transfer-mediated evolution of Mucispirillum schaedleri, a core member of the murine gut microbiota. mSystems 2:e00171-16. https://doi.org/ 10.1128/mSystems.00171-16.

Comments

Copyright © 2017 Loy et al. This is an openaccess article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.

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.