Inactivation of a single gene enables microaerobic growth of the obligate anaerobe Bacteroides fragilis

Brian M. Meehan, Anthony D. Baughn, Rene Gallegos, Michael H. Malamy

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Scopus citations

Abstract

Bacteroides fragilis can replicate in atmospheres containing ≤0.05% oxygen, but higher concentrations arrest growth by an unknown mechanism. Here we show that inactivation of a single gene, oxe (i.e., oxygen enabled) in B. fragilis allows for growth in concentrations as high as 2% oxygen while increasing the tolerance of this organism to room air. Known components of the oxidative stress response including the ahpC, kat, batA-E, and tpx genes were not individually important for microaerobic growth. However, a Δoxe strain scavenged H2O2 at a faster rate than WT, indicating that reactive oxygen species may play a critical role in limiting growth of this organism to low-oxygen environments. Clinical isolates of B. fragilis displayed a greater capacity for growth under microaerobic conditions than fecal isolates, with some encoding polymorphisms in oxe. Additionally, isolation of oxygen-enabled mutants of Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron suggests that Oxe may mediate growth arrest of other anaerobes in oxygenated environments.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)12153-12158
Number of pages6
JournalProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
Volume109
Issue number30
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 24 2012

Keywords

  • Anaerobiosis
  • Peroxidase
  • Superoxide

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