title: Interkingdom transfer of the acne-causing agent, Propionibacterium acnes, from human to grapevine.
abstract: Here, we report the surprising and, to our knowledge, unique example of horizontal interkingdom transfer of a human opportunistic pathogen (Propionibacterium acnes) to a crop plant (the domesticated grapevine Vitis vinifera L.). Humans, like most organisms, have established a long-lasting cohabitation with a variety of microbes, including pathogens and gut-associated bacteria. Studies which have investigated the dynamics of such associations revealed numerous cases of bacterial host switches from domestic animals to humans. Much less is, however, known about the exchange of microbial symbionts between humans and plants. Fluorescent in situ hybridization localized P. acnes in the bark, in xylem fibers, and, more interestingly, inside pith tissues. Phylogenetic and population genetic analyses suggest that the establishment of the grapevine-associated P. acnes as obligate endophyte is compatible with a recent transfer event, likely during the Neolithic, when grapevine was domesticated.
authors.affiliation: Sustainable Agro-Ecosystems and Bioresources Department, Research and Innovation Centre, Fondazione Edmund Mach, S. Michele all'Adige (TN), Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Campisano
authors.forename: Lino
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ometto
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Compant
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pancher
authors.forename: Livio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Antonielli
authors.forename: Sohail
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yousaf
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Varotto
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Anfora
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Pertot
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sessitsch
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Rota-Stabelli
mesh_terms: D000152:Acne Vulgaris / Q000382:microbiology*; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal / Q000235:genetics; D060026:Endophytes / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D010802:Phylogeny; D011425:Propionibacterium acnes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification* / Q000502:physiology; D011938:Rec A Recombinases / Q000235:genetics; D013045:Species Specificity; D013559:Symbiosis / Q000235:genetics; D027843:Vitis / Q000382:microbiology*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004275:DNA, Ribosomal; D011938:Rec A Recombinases
keywords: Propionibacterium acnes; endophyte; pathogen; recA; symbiosis