Enhanced Fusobacterium nucleatum Genetics Using Host DNA Methyltransferases To Bypass Restriction-Modification Systems. 2022

Ariana Umaña, and Tam T D Nguyen, and Blake E Sanders, and Kevin J Williams, and Bryce Wozniak, and Daniel J Slade
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Department of Biochemistry, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA.

Bacterial restriction-modification (R-M) systems are a first-line immune defense against foreign DNA from viruses and other bacteria. While R-M systems are critical in maintaining genome integrity, R-M nucleases unfortunately present significant barriers to targeted genetic modification. Bacteria of the genus Fusobacterium are oral, Gram-negative, anaerobic, opportunistic pathogens that are implicated in the progression and severity of multiple cancers and tissue infections, yet our understanding of their direct roles in disease have been severely hindered by their genetic recalcitrance. Here, we demonstrate a path to overcome these barriers in Fusobacterium by using native DNA methylation as a host mimicry strategy to bypass R-M system cleavage of transformed plasmid DNA. We report the identification, characterization, and successful use of Fusobacterium nucleatum type II and III DNA methyltransferase (MTase) enzymes to produce a multifold increase in gene knockout efficiency in the strain Fusobacterium nucleatum subsp. nucleatum 23726, as well as the first system for efficient gene knockouts and complementations in F. nucleatum subsp. nucleatum 25586. We show plasmid protection can be accomplished in vitro with purified enzymes, as well as in vivo in an Escherichia coli host that constitutively expresses F. nucleatum subsp. nucleatum MTase enzymes. In summary, this proof-of-concept study characterizes specific MTases that are critical for bypassing R-M systems and has enhanced our understanding of enzyme combinations that could be used to genetically modify clinical isolates of Fusobacterium that have thus far been inaccessible to molecular characterization. IMPORTANCE Fusobacterium nucleatum is an oral opportunistic pathogen associated with diseases that include cancer and preterm birth. Our understanding of how this bacterium modulates human disease has been hindered by a lack of genetic systems. Here, we show that F. nucleatum DNA methyltransferase-modified plasmid DNA overcomes the transformation barrier and has allowed the development of a genetic system in a previously inaccessible strain. We present a strategy that could potentially be expanded to enable the genetic modification of highly recalcitrant strains, thereby fostering investigational studies to uncover novel host-pathogen interactions in Fusobacterium.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008780 Methyltransferases A subclass of enzymes of the transferase class that catalyze the transfer of a methyl group from one compound to another. (Dorland, 28th ed) EC 2.1.1. Methyltransferase
D015280 DNA Restriction-Modification Enzymes Systems consisting of two enzymes, a modification methylase and a restriction endonuclease. They are closely related in their specificity and protect the DNA of a given bacterial species. The methylase adds methyl groups to adenine or cytosine residues in the same target sequence that constitutes the restriction enzyme binding site. The methylation renders the target site resistant to restriction, thereby protecting DNA against cleavage. DNA Restriction Modification Enzyme,DNA Restriction-Modification Enzyme,Restriction Modification System,Restriction-Modification System,Restriction-Modification Systems,DNA Restriction Modification Enzymes,Restriction Modification Systems,Enzyme, DNA Restriction-Modification,Enzymes, DNA Restriction-Modification,Modification System, Restriction,Modification Systems, Restriction,Restriction-Modification Enzyme, DNA,Restriction-Modification Enzymes, DNA,System, Restriction Modification,System, Restriction-Modification,Systems, Restriction Modification,Systems, Restriction-Modification
D016967 Fusobacterium nucleatum A species of gram-negative, anaerobic, rod-shaped bacteria isolated from the gingival margin and sulcus and from infections of the upper respiratory tract and pleural cavity.
D019175 DNA Methylation Addition of methyl groups to DNA. DNA methyltransferases (DNA methylases) perform this reaction using S-ADENOSYLMETHIONINE as the methyl group donor. DNA Methylations,Methylation, DNA,Methylations, DNA

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