Evolution of lasR mutants in polymorphic Pseudomonas aeruginosa populations facilitates chronic infection of the lung.

ABSTRACT: Chronic infection with the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa often leads to coexistence of heterogeneous populations carrying diverse mutations. In particular, loss-of-function mutations affecting the quorum-sensing regulator LasR are often found in bacteria isolated from patients with lung chronic infection and cystic fibrosis. Here, we study the evolutionary dynamics of polymorphic P. aeruginosa populations using isolates longitudinally collected from patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). We find that isolates deficient in production of different sharable extracellular products are sequentially selected in COPD airways, and lasR mutants appear to be selected first due to their quorum-sensing defects. Polymorphic populations including lasR mutants display sur

SUBMITTER: Zhao K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10519970 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature