Iron bioavailability regulates Pseudomonas aeruginosa interspecies interactions through type VI secretion expression.

ABSTRACT: The cystic fibrosis (CF) respiratory tract harbors pathogenic bacteria that cause life-threatening chronic infections. Of these, Pseudomonas aeruginosa becomes increasingly dominant with age and is associated with worsening lung function and declining microbial diversity. We aimed to understand why P. aeruginosa dominates over other pathogens to cause worsening disease. Here, we show that P. aeruginosa responds to dynamic changes in iron concentration, often associated with viral infection and pulmonary exacerbations, to become more competitive via expression of the TseT toxic effector. However, this behavior can be therapeutically targeted using the iron chelator deferiprone to block TseT expression and competition. Overall, we find that iron concentration and TseT expression significantl

SUBMITTER: Haas AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10586262 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature