Pseudomonas aeruginosa is oxygen-deprived during infection in cystic fibrosis lungs, reducing the effectiveness of antibiotics.

ABSTRACT: Pseudomonas aeruginosa infects the lungs of patients with cystic fibrosis. Sputum expectorated from the lungs of patients contains low levels of oxygen, indicating that P. aeruginosa may be oxygen-deprived during infection. During in vitro growth under oxygen-limiting conditions, a P. aeruginosa reference strain increases expression of a cytochrome oxidase with a high affinity for oxygen, and of nitrate and nitrite reductases that enable it to use nitrate instead of oxygen during respiration. Here, we quantified transcription of the genes encoding these three enzymes in sputum samples from 18 infected patients, and in bacteria isolated from the sputum samples and grown in aerobic and anaerobic culture. In culture, expression of all three genes was increased by averages of 20- to 500-fold i

SUBMITTER: Martin LW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10408701 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature