A Tale of Transmission: Aeromonas veronii Activity within Leech-Exuded Mucus
Basic science / microbiology published in Appl Environ Microbiol (2016)
Abstract
Transmission, critical to the establishment and persistence of host-associated microbiotas, also exposes symbionts to new environmental conditions. With horizontal transmission, these different conditions represent major lifestyle shifts. Yet genome-wide analyses of how microbes adjust their transcriptomes toward these dramatic shifts remain understudied. Here, we provide a comprehensive and comparative analysis of the global transcriptional profiles of a symbiont as it shifts between lifestyles during transmission. The gammaproteobacterium Aeromonas veronii is transmitted from the gut of the medicinal leech to other hosts via host mucosal castings, yet A. veronii can also transition from mucosal habitancy to a free-living lifestyle. These three lifestyles are characterized by distinct physiological constraints and consequently lifestyle-specific changes in the expression of stress-response genes. Mucus-bound A. veronii had the greatest expression in terms of both the number of loci and levels of transcription of stress-response mechanisms. However, these bacteria are still capable of proliferating within the mucus, suggesting the availability of nutrients within this environment. We found that A. veronii alters transcription of loci in a synthetic pathway that obtains and incorporates N-acetylglucosamine (NAG; a major component of mucus) into the bacterial cell wall, enabling proliferation. Our results demonstrate that symbionts undergo dramatic local adaptation, demonstrated by widespread transcriptional changes, throughout the process of transmission that allows them to thrive while they encounter new environments which further shape their ecology and evolution.
Abstract sourced from PubMed (NCBI) for the cited record. See the original publication for the authoritative version.
Resumen
Comparative transcriptomics of Aeromonas veronii across gut, mucus, and free-living lifestyles, revealing stress-response and N-acetylglucosamine-incorporation gene-expression shifts during horizontal transmission from leech mucus.
Por qué esto importa para la hirudoterapia
Este estudio proporciona un análisis transcripcional de genoma completo de Aeromonas veronii, un simbionte del intestino de la sanguijuela medicinal, examinando cómo ajusta su transcriptoma a través de tres estilos de vida durante la transmisión: asociado al intestino, unido a moco y de vida libre. El resumen reporta que A. veronii unido a moco mostró la mayor expresión de genes de respuesta al estrés, pero permaneció capaz de proliferar, utilizando N-acetilglucosamina (un componente mayor del moco) mediante la expresión alterada de una vía sintética de pared celular. Para el dominio de ASH, la relevancia se limita a la biología básica del tracto digestivo de la sanguijuela: el estudio examina un microorganismo asociado a la sanguijuela medicinal, pero es una investigación de ecología microbiana y genómica sin componente terapéutico. La advertencia honesta es que el resumen no aborda ni los resultados de la hirudoterapia, ni la composición del secretoma de la sanguijuela, ni el manejo de colonias, ni ninguna pregunta clínica o aplicada, y no respalda ninguna afirmación sobre la terapia práctica con sanguijuelas.
Citación
A Tale of Transmission: Aeromonas veronii Activity within Leech-Exuded Mucus.
Ott BM et al. · Applied and environmental microbiology, 2016
Contexto clínico relacionado
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Añadido a la biblioteca ASH: May 27, 2026 · Última actualización del sitio: 18 de junio de 2026