Heme-induced genes facilitate endosymbiont (Sodalis glossinidius) colonization of the tsetse fly (Glossina morsitans) midgut
Authors: Runyen-Janecky Laura J. , Scheutzow Jack , Farsin Ruhan , Cabo Leah F. , Wall Katie E. , Kuhn Katrina M. , Amador Rashel , D’Souza Shaina J. , Vigneron Aurelien , Weiss Brian L. 
Published: September 2022

Tsetse flies (Glossina spp.) feed exclusively on vertebrate blood. After a blood meal, the enteric endosymbiont Sodalis glossinidius is exposed to various environmental stressors including high levels of heme. To investigate how S. glossinidius morsitans (Sgm, the Sodalis subspecies that resides within the gut of G. morsitans) tolerates the heme-induced oxidative environment of tsetse’s midgut, we used RNAseq to identify bacterial genes that are differentially expressed in cells cultured in high versus lower heme environments. Our analysis identified 436 genes that were significantly differentially expressed (> or < 2-fold) in the presence of high heme [219 heme-induced genes (HIGs) and 217 heme-repressed genes (HRGs)]. HIGs were enriched in Gene Ontology (GO) terms related to regulation of a variety of biological functions, including gene expression and metabolic processes. We observed that 11 out of 13 Sgm genes that were heme regulated in vitro were similarly regulated in bacteria that resided within tsetse’s midgut 24 hr (high heme environment) and 96 hr (low heme environment) after the flies had consumed a blood meal. We used intron mutagenesis to make insertion mutations in 12 Sgm HIGs and observed no significant change in growth in vitro in any of the mutant strains in high versus low heme conditions. However, Sgm strains that carried mutations in genes encoding a putative undefined phosphotransferase sugar (PTS) system component (SG2427), fucose transporter (SG0182), bacterioferritin (SG2280), and a DNA-binding protein (SGP1-0002) presented growth and/or survival defects in tsetse midguts as compared to normal Sgm. These findings suggest that the uptake up of sugars and storage of iron represent strategies that Sgm employs to successfully reside within the high heme environment of its tsetse host’s midgut. Our results are of epidemiological relevance, as many hematophagous arthropods house gut-associated bacteria that mediate their host’s competency as a vector of disease-causing pathogens.

Author summary

Tsetse flies feed exclusively on vertebrate blood. This nutrient source contains large quantities of heme, which can be toxic to the fly’s associated microorganisms. We investigated the genetic mechanisms that underlie the ability of the bacterial endosymbiont, Sodalis glossinidius, to successfully reside within tsetse’s heme-rich midgut. Exposure of cultured S. glossinidius to high levels of heme induced changes in the expression of genes that encode proteins involved in transcription, replication and repair of DNA, inorganic ion transport, and carbohydrate transport and metabolism processes. Changes in the expression of several of these same S. glossinidius genes also occurred within tsetse’s midgut following exposure to a blood meal. S. glossinidius genetically engineered to present mutations in several of these heme regulated genes were unable to successfully colonize tsetse’s gut. Our results provide insight into how bacteria that live in the gut of blood feeding arthropods mitigate the toxic effects of excessive heme. This information is of epidemiological relevance, as many of these bacteria influence their host’s ability to transmit disease pathogens that cause disease in humans and domesticated animals.