Pseudomonas aeruginosa kills Staphylococcus aureus in a polyphosphate-dependent manner.

ABSTRACT: Due to their frequent coexistence in many polymicrobial infections, including in patients with burn or chronic wounds or cystic fibrosis, recent studies have started to investigate the mechanistic details of the interaction between the opportunistic pathogens Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. P. aeruginosa rapidly outcompetes S. aureus under in vitro co-cultivation conditions, which is mediated by several of P. aeruginosa's virulence factors. Here, we report that polyphosphate (polyP), an efficient stress defense system and virulence factor in P. aeruginosa, plays a role for the pathogen's ability to inhibit and kill S. aureus in a contact-independent manner. We show that P. aeruginosa cells characterized by low

SUBMITTER: Shah R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10723280 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature