Correlation versus causation: Helicobacter pylori population heterogeneity complicates the identification of mutant strain phenotypes.

ABSTRACT: Helicobacter pylori causes cancer in approximately 1% of infected individuals. A proposed mechanism of H. pylori persistence centers on the ability of the pathogen to form biofilms, yet little is known about specific genetic requirements for this process. Our investigation revealed that during lab passage, H. pylori accumulates genetic changes that impact further phenotypic analyses. Specifically, we first sought to characterize the roles of the flagellar genes, pflA and flgS, in biofilm formation; the flgS mutant strain was biofilm deficient, but the pflA mutant strain was a hyper-biofilm former; however, the pflA mutant strain phenotype was unstable. Analysis and screening of six new pflA mutant strains revealed variable biom

SUBMITTER: Wylie MR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12838425 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature