Affiliation:
1. Department of Microbiology-Immunology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Bacterial strain variation exists in natural populations of bacteria and can be generated experimentally through directed or random mutation. The advent of rapid and cost-efficient whole-genome sequencing has facilitated strain-level genotyping. Even with modern tools, however, it often remains a challenge to map specific traits to individual genetic loci, especially for traits that cannot be selected under culture conditions (e.g., colonization level or pathogenicity). Using a combination of classical and modern approaches, we analyzed strain-level variation in
Vibrio fischeri
and identified the basis by which some strains lack the ability to utilize glycerol as a carbon source. We proceeded to reconstruct the lineage of the commonly used
V. fischeri
laboratory strains. Compared to the wild-type ES114 strain, we identify in ES114-L a 9.9-kb deletion with endpoints in
tadB2
and
glpF
; restoration of the missing portion of
glpF
restores the wild-type phenotype. The widely used strains ESR1, JRM100, and JRM200 contain the same deletion, and ES114-L is likely a previously unrecognized intermediate strain in the construction of many ES114 derivatives. ES114-L does not exhibit a defect in competitive squid colonization but ESR1 does, demonstrating that glycerol utilization is not required for early squid colonization. Our genetic mapping approach capitalizes on the recently discovered chitin-based transformation pathway, which is conserved in the
Vibrionaceae
; therefore, the specific approach used is likely to be useful for mapping genetic traits in other
Vibrio
species.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Molecular Biology,Microbiology
Cited by
12 articles.
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