Microbial Extracellular Vesicles

A special issue of Genes (ISSN 2073-4425). This special issue belongs to the section "Microbial Genetics and Genomics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 November 2021) | Viewed by 12353

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Université de Lorraine, INRAE, Dynamique des Génomes et Adaptation Microbienne (DynAMic UMR1128), Nancy, France
Interests: molecular microbiology; horizontal gene transfer; DNA conjugation; extracellular vesicles; virology

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Co-Guest Editor
Institut de Génétique et Microbiologie (IGMORS), Université Paris-Saclay, I2BC, France
Interests: hyperthermophiles; viruses; extracellular vesicles; nanotubes; biomineralization

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It has only been 20 years since microbiologists realized the significance of the production of  extracellular vesicles (EVs) by bacteria and archaea. This widespread phenomenon has not only been observed under laboratory growth conditions but also in environmental conditions as in seawater, biofilm formations, or during infections, underscoring the importance of EVs to various biological processes. The recent discovery of long tubular structures termed “nanotubes”, emerging from the cell wall and composed of EVs chains or consecutive constricted segments, suggests a connected process between EVs production and nanotubes formation. The heterogeneity of microbial EVs is impressive, with some species producing EVs harbouring proteins (especially enzymes and toxins), signal molecules, but also nucleic acids such as RNA and DNA. Interestingly, the nature of the DNA transported by EVs is not restricted to mobile genetic elements such as plasmids or viruses, but sometimes corresponds to cellular genomic DNA, enabling horizontal transfers between species (a process tentatively called vesiduction). However, in many cases where EVs production is known, the potential transfer of RNA or DNA has not always been tested experimentally. Moreover, very little is known about the genetic determinants promoting or increasing the biogenesis and release of EVs.

This Special Issue of Genes on “Microbial Extracellular Vesicles” will address any original articles leading to a better comprehension of how EVs are released from cells, how the production of EVs is regulated, and the extent to which EVs are involved in genetic exchanges and/or trigger gene regulation in the target cell. General reviews dedicated to microbial EVs will also be welcome.

Dr. Nicolas Soler
Guest Editor
Dr. Aurore Gorlas
Co-Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • extracellular vesicles
  • nanotubes
  • horizontal gene transfer
  • vesiduction
  • microbial genetics
  • vesicle release
  • gene regulation
  • bacteria
  • archaea

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 3724 KiB  
Article
The Origin of Plasma-Derived Bacterial Extracellular Vesicles in Healthy Individuals and Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: A Pilot Study
by Emily Jones, Régis Stentz, Andrea Telatin, George M. Savva, Catherine Booth, David Baker, Steven Rudder, Stella C. Knight, Alistair Noble and Simon R. Carding
Genes 2021, 12(10), 1636; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12101636 - 18 Oct 2021
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 4280
Abstract
The gastrointestinal tract harbors the gut microbiota, structural alterations of which (dysbiosis) are linked with an increase in gut permeability (“leaky gut”), enabling luminal antigens and bacterial products such as nanosized bacterial extracellular vesicles (BEVs) to access the circulatory system. Blood-derived BEVs contain [...] Read more.
The gastrointestinal tract harbors the gut microbiota, structural alterations of which (dysbiosis) are linked with an increase in gut permeability (“leaky gut”), enabling luminal antigens and bacterial products such as nanosized bacterial extracellular vesicles (BEVs) to access the circulatory system. Blood-derived BEVs contain various cargoes and may be useful biomarkers for diagnosis and monitoring of disease status and relapse in conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). To progress this concept, we developed a rapid, cost-effective protocol to isolate BEV-associated DNA and used 16S rRNA gene sequencing to identify bacterial origins of the blood microbiome of healthy individuals and patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing successfully identified the origin of plasma-derived BEV DNA. The analysis showed that the blood microbiota richness, diversity, or composition in IBD, healthy control, and protocol control groups were not significantly distinct, highlighting the issue of ‘kit-ome’ contamination in low-biomass studies. Our pilot study provides the basis for undertaking larger studies to determine the potential use of blood microbiota profiling as a diagnostic aid in IBD. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Extracellular Vesicles)
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10 pages, 1493 KiB  
Article
Production of Membrane Vesicles in Listeria monocytogenes Cultured with or without Sub-Inhibitory Concentrations of Antibiotics and Their Innate Immune Responses In Vitro
by Jung-Hwa Woo, Shukho Kim, Taewon Lee, Je-Chul Lee and Ji-Hyun Shin
Genes 2021, 12(3), 415; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12030415 - 13 Mar 2021
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2123
Abstract
Listeriosis is a food-borne illness caused by Listeria monocytogenes. Ampicillin (AMP) alone or in combination with gentamicin (GEN) is the first-line treatment option. Membrane vesicle (MV) production in L. monocytogenes under antibiotic stress conditions and pathologic roles of these MVs in hosts [...] Read more.
Listeriosis is a food-borne illness caused by Listeria monocytogenes. Ampicillin (AMP) alone or in combination with gentamicin (GEN) is the first-line treatment option. Membrane vesicle (MV) production in L. monocytogenes under antibiotic stress conditions and pathologic roles of these MVs in hosts have not been reported yet. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the production of MVs in L. monocytogenes cultured with sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of AMP, GEN, or trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (SXT) and determine pathologic effects of these MVs in colon epithelial Caco-2 cells. L. monocytogenes cultured in tryptic soy broth with 1/2 MIC of AMP, GEN, or SXT produced 6.0, 2.9, or 1.5 times more MV particles, respectively, than bacteria cultured without antibiotics. MVs from L. monocytogenes cultured with AMP (MVAMP), GEN (MVGEN), or SXT (MVSXT) were more cytotoxic to Caco-2 cell than MVs obtained from cultivation without antibiotics (MVTSB). MVAMP induced more expression of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α gene than MVTSB, MVGEN and MVSXT, whereas MVTSB induced more expression of interleukin (IL)- and IL-8 genes than other MVs. Expression of pro-inflammatory cytokine genes by L. monocytogenes MVs was significantly inhibited by proteinase K treatment of MVs. In conclusion, antibiotic stress can trigger the biogenesis of MVs in L. monocytogenes and MVs produced by L. monocytogenes exposed to sub-MIC of AMP can induce strong pro-inflammatory responses by expressing TNF-α gene in host cells, which may contribute to the pathology of listeriosis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Extracellular Vesicles)
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Review

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9 pages, 1097 KiB  
Review
Extracellular Vesicles and Host–Pathogen Interactions: A Review of Inter-Kingdom Signaling by Small Noncoding RNA
by Bruce A. Stanton
Genes 2021, 12(7), 1010; https://doi.org/10.3390/genes12071010 - 30 Jun 2021
Cited by 32 | Viewed by 5022
Abstract
The focus of this brief review is to describe the role of noncoding regulatory RNAs, including short RNAs (sRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA) fragments and microRNAs (miRNA) secreted in extracellular vesicles (EVs), in inter-kingdom communication between bacteria and mammalian (human) host cells. Bacteria secrete [...] Read more.
The focus of this brief review is to describe the role of noncoding regulatory RNAs, including short RNAs (sRNA), transfer RNA (tRNA) fragments and microRNAs (miRNA) secreted in extracellular vesicles (EVs), in inter-kingdom communication between bacteria and mammalian (human) host cells. Bacteria secrete vesicles that contain noncoding regulatory RNAs, and recent studies have shown that the bacterial vesicles fuse with and deliver regulatory RNAs to host cells, and similar to eukaryotic miRNAs, regulatory RNAs modulate the host immune response to infection. Recent studies have also demonstrated that mammalian cells secrete EVs containing miRNAs that regulate the gut microbiome, biofilm formation and the bacterial response to antibiotics. Thus, as evidence accumulates it is becoming clear that the secretion of noncoding regulatory RNAs and miRNAs in extracellular vesicles is an important mechanism of bidirectional communication between bacteria and mammalian (human) host cells. However, additional research is necessary to elucidate how noncoding regulatory RNAs and miRNA secreted in extracellular vesicles mediate inter-kingdom communication. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Extracellular Vesicles)
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