Biofilm Producing Enterococcus Isolates from Vaginal Microbiota

Sengupta, Mallika; Sarkar, Shubhashish; Ghosh, Sougata; Sarkar, Riya; Banerjee, Parthajit

doi:10.3390/antibiotics10091082

Cited by 9 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…In the urinary tract, E. faecium is rarely the cause of acute UTIs, but is more frequently associated with catheter-associated UTIs ( 37 ). Prior studies also have detected E. faecium in the vaginal microbiota of females with bacterial vaginitis ( 38 , 39 ). Thus, acquisition from E. faecium in the urogenital tract is one hypothesis for the acquisition of this BGC.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 88%

Exploring the genotypic and phenotypic differences distinguishing Lactobacillus jensenii and Lactobacillus mulieris

Ene

Banerjee

Wolfe

et al. 2023

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Lactobacillus crispatus , Lactobacillus gasseri , Lactobacillus iners , and Lactobacillus jensenii are dominant species of the urogenital microbiota. Prior studies suggest that these Lactobacillus species play a significant role in the urobiome of healthy females. In our prior genomic analysis of all publicly available L. jensenii and Lactobacillus mulieris genomes at the time ( n = 43), we identified genes unique to these two closely related species. This motivated our further exploration here into their genotypic differences as well as into their phenotypic differences. First, we expanded genome sequence representatives of both species to 61 strains, including publicly available strains and nine new strains sequenced here. Genomic analyses conducted include phylogenetics of the core genome as well as biosynthetic gene cluster analysis and metabolic pathway analyses. Urinary strains of both species were assayed for their ability to utilize four simple carbohydrates. We found that L. jensenii strains can efficiently catabolize maltose, trehalose, and glucose, but not ribose, and L. mulieris strains can utilize maltose and glucose, but not trehalose and ribose. Metabolic pathway analysis clearly shows the lack of treB within L. mulieris strains, indicative of its inability to catabolize external sources of trehalose. While genotypic and phenotypic observations provide insight into the differences between these two species, we did not find any association with urinary symptom status. Through this genomic and phenotypic investigation, we identify markers that can be leveraged to clearly distinguish these two species in investigations of the female urogenital microbiota. IMPORTANCE We have expanded upon our prior genomic analysis of L. jensenii and L. mulieris strains, including nine new genome sequences. Our bioinformatic analysis finds that L. jensenii and L. mulieris cannot be distinguished by short-read 16S rRNA gene sequencing alone. Thus, to discriminate between these two species, future studies of the female urogenital microbiome should employ metagenomic sequencing and/or sequence species-specific genes, such as those identified here. Our bioinformatic examination also confirmed our prior observations of differences between the two species related to genes associated with carbohydrate utilization, which we tested here. We found that the transport and utilization of trehalose are key distinguishing traits of L. jensenii , which is further supported by our metabolic pathway analysis. In contrast with other urinary Lactobacillus species, we did not find strong evidence for either species, nor particular genotypes, to be associated with lower urinary tract symptoms (or the lack thereof).

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 88%

Exploring the genotypic and phenotypic differences distinguishing Lactobacillus jensenii and Lactobacillus mulieris

Ene

Banerjee

Wolfe

et al. 2023

mSphere

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Extremely low counts of E. faecalis ASVs were observed in vaginal microbiome profiles, and very few instances of potential ASV transfer were detected. E. faecalis is, however, a known colonizer of the female genitourinary tract ( 47 – 49 ) and has been associated with both aerobic vaginitis ( 50 ) and commensal carriage ( 33 , 34 ), though it is understudied in the latter context. As mentioned above, we also identified identical strains of E. faecalis in mothers and CS-delivered infants by PFGE, which cannot be explained by transmission from the maternal vaginal microbiome.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Birth Mode Does Not Determine the Presence of Shared Bacterial Strains between the Maternal Vaginal Microbiome and the Infant Stool Microbiome

et al. 2023

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The importance of the gut microbiome in human health and disease is widely recognized, and there has been a growing appreciation that alterations in gut microbiome composition during a “critical window” of development may impact health in later life. Attempts to correct gut microbiome dysbiosis related to birth mode are underpinned by the assumption that the lack of exposure to maternal vaginal microbes during caesarean delivery is responsible for dysbiosis.

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“…The ability of vaginitis-related enterococcus to produce biofilm has been reported by many studies as an important virulence factor. [ 39 ]. We hypothesize that chronically persistent biofilms of Enterococci in the genital tract can explain recurrent AV episodes, thereby contributing to pregnancy complications, such as RPL.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The results were interpreted based on the optical densities of the isolates, and the production of biofilm by various strains was categorized. Bacteria were classified as high, moderate, low, and non-biofilm producers based on their OD 570 values, which were (OD ≥ 2), (1 ≤ OD < 2), (0.5 < OD < 1), and (OD ≤ 0.5) [ 39 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial Diversity and Pathogenic Properties of Microbiota Associated with Aerobic Vaginitis in Women with Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

et al. 2022

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Recurrent pregnancy loss (RPL) is a major reproductive problem that affects approximately 5% of couples. The objective of this study was to assess vaginal flora dysbiosis in women suffering from unexplained RPL and to investigate the pathogenic properties of the microbiota associated with aerobic vaginitis (AV). The study included one hundred fifteen women, 65 with RPL and 50 controls. The diversity of vaginal microbiota isolated was evaluated by molecular sequencing. Then, pathogenic factors, such as acid-resistance, antibiotics susceptibility, and biofilm formation were evaluated. The prevalence of AV was five-fold higher in the RPL group than in the controls (64.6% vs. 12.0%). The most prevalent isolates in the case group were Enterococcus spp. (52%) and Staphylococcus spp. (26%). All bacterial strains tolerate low pH. The prevalence of multidrug resistance (MDR) among all bacteria was 47.7%. Of all strains, 91.0% were biofilm producers. The presence of MDR was found to be related to biofilm formation. The results provide evidence supporting an increased presence of dysbiosis of the vaginal flora, especially AV, in women with RPL in Tunisia. The viability of the AV-associated bacteria and their persistence in the genitals may be due to their ability to resist low pH and to produce a biofilm.

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Biofilm Producing Enterococcus Isolates from Vaginal Microbiota

Cited by 9 publications

References 34 publications

Exploring the genotypic and phenotypic differences distinguishing Lactobacillus jensenii and Lactobacillus mulieris

Exploring the genotypic and phenotypic differences distinguishing Lactobacillus jensenii and Lactobacillus mulieris

Birth Mode Does Not Determine the Presence of Shared Bacterial Strains between the Maternal Vaginal Microbiome and the Infant Stool Microbiome

Microbial Diversity and Pathogenic Properties of Microbiota Associated with Aerobic Vaginitis in Women with Recurrent Pregnancy Loss

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