Transposon Mutagenesis Facilitates Discovery Of Genotype-Phenotype Associations and Functional Interrogation of the <i>Mycobacterium Kansasii</i> Genome

<p><em>Mycobacterium kansasii</em> (<em>Mk</em>) is a nontuberculous mycobacterium (NTM) and medically relevant opportunistic human pathogen. <em>Mk </em>causes dangerous disease pathologies ranging from tuberculosis-like chronic pulmonary disease (CPD) to non-pulmonary focal or disseminated infections that are exacerbated by comorbidities such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), co-infection with HIV, or cancer. Among the most frequently identified cause of NTM-linked CPD, <em>Mk</em> infections contribute to a globally increasing NTM disease burden and are difficult to treat, requiring a long-term, multi-drug regimen. Although a less virulent pathogen than <em>Mycobacterium tuberculosis </em>(<em>Mtb</em>), <em>Mk </em>elicits similar disease features and shares <em>in vitro </em>growth characteristics with the ‘tubercle bacillus’. Due to a high level of genetic similarity and lower biosafety concern,<em> Mk </em>also has potential as an attractive model organism for the study of <em>Mtb</em>. Despite this, research into <em>Mk</em> gene function is limited and no genome-wide studies have been reported. Here, we provide evidence that demonstrates the functionality of a phage-based transposon (Tn) mutagenesis system in <em>Mk </em>by generating and screening a library of random insertion mutants for altered macrocolony morphology. In this screen, we identified 41 mutants exhibiting unique phenotypes, among them one carrying disruption to a gene encoding a conserved mycobacterial small regulatory RNA for which we established a previously unrecognized role in (macro)colony morphology and biofilm formation. Additionally, we showed <em>Galleria mellonella</em> larva are susceptible to <em>Mk</em> infection, demonstrating the potential of this increasingly popular infection model for the study of <em>Mk</em> pathogenicity and efficacy of antimicrobial compounds. Finally, we combined Tn mutagenesis with next generation sequencing to identify 12,071 unique insertion sites that do not impact <em>Mk</em> viability. A comparison of our results to published transposon sequencing data for <em>Mtb</em> identified 11 <em>Mk</em> orthologs of essential <em>Mtb</em> genes tolerant of transposon insertion that potentially reflect significant differences in genetic requirements between the two species. Together, this work demonstrates Tn mutagenesis is an effective tool to study gene function in <em>Mk</em> and sets the stage for more comprehensive comparative genetic studies of <em>Mk</em> and <em>Mtb</em>.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biology

Grantor

The Graduate School and University Center of The City University of New York

Year dc:date.available

2019

Author dc:creator

• Budell, William C

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Luis E. N. Quadri

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Peter Lipke
• Nicolas Biais
• Anuradha Janakiraman
• Edward Chan

• Bacteriology
• Life Sciences
• Microbial Physiology
• Mycobacteria
• Colony morphology
• sRNA
• Galleria mellonella
• virulence
• biofilm

Repository record dc:identifier

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/3495

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:academicworks.cuny.edu:gc_etds-4531