Signatures of selection in core and accessory genomes indicate different ecological drivers of diversification among <i>Bacillus cereus</i> clades

White, Hugh; Vos, Michiel; Sheppard, Samuel K.; Pascoe, Ben; Raymond, Ben

doi:10.1111/mec.16490

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 135 publications

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“…Modelling experiments have shown that early access to insect cadavers is key to competitive success in B. thuringiensis (van Leeuwen et al, 2015), fostering the hypothesis that cereulide might provide an advantage for a necromenic lifestyle of emetic B. cereus . Indeed, emetic strains belong to the B. cereus clade I (Ehling‐Schulz et al, 2019), recently suggested to entail necromenic bacteria (White et al, 2022). Interestingly, certain Streptomyces species produce valinomycin, a structurally similar potassium‐binding NRP, and have a symbiotic relationship with leaf‐cutting ants.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, Bacillus anthracis, the causative agent of anthrax in humans and animals, belongs to clade I while Bacillus weihenstephanensis, known for its psychrotolerance and high food spoilage potential, belongs to clade III. By contrast, B. cereus is distributed throughout all clades, highlighting its adaptability to broad range of environments and ecological niches (Guinebretière et al, 2008;White et al, 2022). The latter species causes different types of food poisoning, mainly manifesting in diarrheal and emetic Sabrina Jenull and Tobias Bauer contributed equally.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The toxicological spectrum of the Bacillus cereus toxin cereulide points towards niche‐specific specialisation

Jenull

Bauer

Silbermayr

et al. 2023

Environmental Microbiology

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Most microbes share their environmental niches with very different forms of life thereby engaging in specialised relationships to enable their persistence. The bacterium Bacillus cereus occurs ubiquitously in the environment with certain strain backgrounds causing foodborne and opportunistic infections in humans. The emetic lineage of B. cereus is capable of producing the toxin cereulide, which evokes emetic illnesses. Although food products favouring the accumulation of cereulide are known, the ecological role of cereulide and the environmental niche of emetic B. cereus remain elusive. To better understand the ecology of cereulide‐producing B. cereus, we systematically assayed the toxicological spectrum of cereulide on a variety of organisms belonging to different kingdoms. As cereulide is a potassium ionophore, we further tested the effect of environmental potassium levels on the action of cereulide. We found that adverse effects of cereulide exposure are species‐specific, which can be exacerbated with increased environmental potassium. Additionally, we demonstrate that cereulide is produced within an insect cadaver indicating its potential ecological function for a saprophytic lifestyle. Collectively, distinct cereulide susceptibilities of other organisms may reflect its role in enabling competitive niche specialization of emetic B. cereus.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The toxicological spectrum of the Bacillus cereus toxin cereulide points towards niche‐specific specialisation

Jenull

Bauer

Silbermayr

et al. 2023

Environmental Microbiology

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“…Bacterial species are categorized based on shared evolutionary lineages, often reflecting their specific ecological niches [30][31][32][33] . In the case of B. fragilis, we employed a k-mer clustering approach using full genome assemblies to classify strains into phylogroups, revealing 16 distinct phylogroups (Figure 2A, S2A, and Table 4).…”

Section: B Fragilis Phylogroups Harbor Distinct Genes That Mediate Ca...mentioning

confidence: 99%

PathogenicBacteroides fragilisstrains can emerge from gut-resident commensals

Oles,

Terrazas,

Loomis

et al. 2024

Preprint

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SUMMARYBacteroides fragilisis a prominent member of the human gut microbiota, playing crucial roles in maintaining gut homeostasis and host health. Although it primarily functions as a beneficial commensal,B. fragiliscan become pathogenic. To determine the genetic basis of its duality, we conducted a comparative genomic analysis of 813B. fragilisstrains, representing both commensal and pathogenic origins. Our findings reveal that pathogenic strains emerge across diverse phylogenetic lineages, due in part to rapid gene exchange and the adaptability of the accessory genome. We identified 16 phylogenetic groups, differentiated by genes associated with capsule composition, interspecies competition, and host interactions. A microbial genome-wide association study identified 44 genes linked to extra-intestinal survival and pathogenicity. These findings reveal how genomic diversity within commensal species can lead to the emergence of pathogenic traits, broadening our understanding of microbial evolution in the gut.

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“…Paradoxically, evolutionary insights provided by these novel tools have brought greater taxonomic ambiguity, rather than clarification. Thus, B. cereus group species deeply ingrained in medicine and industry, such as B. anthracis, B. cereus and B. thuringiensis , may be inconsistent with genome evolution at the molecular or gene level [ 39 ].…”

Section: Pathogenic Bacilli Versus Regular ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathogenic Bacilli as an Emerging Biothreat?

Mondange

Tessier²,

Tournier

2022

Pathogens

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Bacillus anthracis, present as a very durable endospore in soil, causes zoonotic illness which is mainly associated with herbivores and domestic animals. Human cases are scarce and often involve populations close to infected livestock. If anthrax is no longer of public health concern in developed countries, B. anthracis is one of the top-tier biological weapon agents. It is classified by the CDC as a category A agent. Since 1994, emerging strains of Bacillus cereus have been associated with anthrax-like disease in mammals. Some clinical strains of B. cereus harbor anthrax-like plasmid genes (pXO1 and pXO2) associated with non-human primate and human infections, with the same clinical presentation of inhalation anthrax and mortality rates. Although currently restricted to certain limited areas of circulation, the emergence of these new strains of B. cereus extends the list of potential agents possibly usable for bioterrorism or as a biological weapon. It is therefore important to improve our knowledge of the phylogeny within the B. cereus sensu lato group to better understand the origin of these strains. We can then more efficiently monitor the emergence of new strains to better control the risk of infection and limit potentially malicious uses.

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Signatures of selection in core and accessory genomes indicate different ecological drivers of diversification among Bacillus cereus clades

Abstract: key question in the debate is whether ecological differentiation is determined primarily by selection on the core genome (genes shared by all strains within a clade) or the accessory genome (genes shared

Cited by 5 publications

References 135 publications

The toxicological spectrum of the Bacillus cereus toxin cereulide points towards niche‐specific specialisation

The toxicological spectrum of the Bacillus cereus toxin cereulide points towards niche‐specific specialisation

PathogenicBacteroides fragilisstrains can emerge from gut-resident commensals

Pathogenic Bacilli as an Emerging Biothreat?

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