Genomewide transcriptional response of Escherichia coli O157:H7 to norepinephrine

BACKGROUND: Chemical signaling between a mammalian host and intestinal microbes is health and maintenance of ‘healthy’ intestinal microbiota. Escherichia coli O157:H7 can hijack host- and microbiota-produced chemical signals for survival in a harsh and nutritionally competitive gastrointestinal environment and for intestinal colonization. Norepinephrine (NE) produced by sympathetic neurons of the enteric nervous system has been shown in vitro to induce expression of genes controlling E. coli O157:H7 swimming motility, acid resistance, and adherence to epithelial cells. A previous study used a microarray approach to identify differentially expressed genes in E. coli O157:H7 strain EDL933 in response to NE. To elucidate a comprehensive transcriptional response to NE, we performed RNA-Seq on rRNA-depleted RNA of E. coli O157:H7 strain NADC 6564, an isolate of a foodborne E. coli O157:H7 strain 86–24. The reads generated by RNA-Seq were mapped to NADC 6564 genome using HiSat2. The mapped reads were quantified by htseq-count against the genome of strain NADC 6564. The differentially expressed genes were identified by analyzing quantified reads by DESeq2. RESULTS: Of the 585 differentially expressed genes (≥ 2.0-fold; p < 0.05), many encoded pathways promoting ability of E. coli O157:H7 strain NADC 6564 to colonize intestines of carrier animals and to produce disease in an incidental human host through increased adherence to epithelial cells and production of Shiga toxins. In addition, NE exposure also induced the expression of genes encoding pathways conferring prolonged survival at extreme acidity, controlling influx/efflux of specific nutrients/metabolites, and modulating tolerance to various stressors. A correlation was also observed between the EvgS/EvgA signal transduction system and the ability of bacterial cells to survive exposure to high acidity for several hours. Many genes involved in nitrogen, sulfur, and amino acid uptake were upregulated while genes linked to iron (Fe(3+)) acquisition and transport were downregulated. CONCLUSION: The availability of physiological levels of NE in gastrointestinal tract could serve as an important cue for E. coli O157:H7 to engineer its virulence, stress, and metabolic pathways for colonization in reservoir animals, such as cattle, causing illness in humans, and surviving outside of a host. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-08167-z.