Characterization of Neisseria meningitidis rifampicin resistant strains: highlight on molecular mechanisms underlying the phenotypic traits associated with the RpoB H553Y substitution

Rifampicin chemoprophylaxis against Neisseria meningitidis infections led to the onset of rifampicin resistance in clinical isolates harboring point mutations in the rpoB gene, coding for the RNA polymerase ? chain. These resistant strains are rare in medical practice, suggesting their decreased ?tness in the human host. In this study, we isolated rifampicin-resistant rpoB mutants from hypervirulent serogroup C strain 93/4286 and analyzed their different properties, including the ability to grow and survive in different culture media and in differentiated THP-1 human monocytes and to compete with the wild-type strain in vitro. Our results demonstrate that different rpoB mutations (H553Y, H553R and S549F) may have different effects, ranging from low- to high-cost, on bacterial ?tness in vitro. Moreover, we found that the S549F mutation confers temperature sensitivity, possibly explaining why it is observed very rarely in clinical isolates. Comparative high-throughput RNA sequencing analysis of bacteria grown in chemically de?ned medium demonstrated that the low-cost H553Y substitution resulted in global transcriptional changes that functionally mimic the stringent response. Interestingly, many virulence-associated genes, including those coding for meningococcal type IV pili, porin A, adhesins/invasins, IgA protease, two-partner secretion system HrpA/HrpB, enzymes involved in resistance to oxidative injury, lipooligosaccharide sialylation, and capsular polysaccharide biosynthesis, were down regulated in the H553Y mutant compared to their level of regulation in the wild-type strain. These data might account for the reduced capacity of H553Y mutant to grow and survive in differentiated THP-1 cells and explain the rarity of this mutant in clinical isolates.