Phenotypic and genetic changes in the life cycle of small colony variants of Salmonellaenterica serotype Typhimurium induced by streptomycin

BACKGROUND: Small colony variants (SCVs), constituting a slow-growing subpopulation of bacteria that facilitates persistence in lethal environmental conditions, are able to revert to the phenotype of rapid growth for further proliferation and transmission. Salmonella enterica serotype Typhimurium is one of the most important foodborne pathogens. This study investigated the genetic mechanisms how SCVs induced by streptomycin reverted to the fast-growing phenotype and the phenotypic changes of SCVs among their complete life cycle in S.Typhimurium. METHODS: Salmonella Typhimurium SCVs were obtained by streptomycin treatment and their revertants were collected in the absence of antibiotics. The fitness, antimicrobial susceptibility, biofilm formation, and the biofilm-related genes expression were analyzed in comparison to their wild type strain, and the whole genome sequencing was performed to identify the genetic changes in the life cycle of S. Typhimurium SCVs. RESULTS: Small colony variants were characterized by an increased antimicrobial resistance to streptomycin (64-fold), imipenem (twofold), and gentamicin (fourfold). A significant increase in biofilm production with higher expression of csgB was observed in SCVs (P < 0.01). The genetic alterations of all SCVs occurred in ubiE gene (coenzyme Q(8) and menaquinone synthesis) with frameshift mutations. However, all fast-growing revertants again lost the trait of increased biofilm production (P > 0.05), in which two modes of the genetic changes for reversing to the rapidly growing form were observed: four revertants harbored a secondary mutation in ubiE, which reinstated most of the amino acid sequence of the ubiE, and other four revertants harbored a mutation in prfB. CONCLUSIONS: Salmonella Typhimurium could switch to the phenotype of SCVs under the treatment of streptomycin by a mutation in ubiE, partially combined with increased production of biofilm, and these SCVs could escape from growth restriction by a compensatory mutation in prfB or a new mutation in ubiE. These findings may contribute to establishing phenotype-directed treatments against SCVs of S.Typhimurium. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12941-016-0151-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.