BdlA, DipA and induced dispersion contribute to acute virulence and chronic persistence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

ABSTRACT: The human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa is capable of causing both acute and chronic infections. Differences in virulence are attributable to the mode of growth: bacteria growing planktonically cause acute infections, while bacteria growing in matrix-enclosed aggregates known as biofilms are associated with chronic, persistent infections. While the contribution of the planktonic and biofilm modes of growth to virulence is now widely accepted, little is known about the role of dispersion in virulence, the active process by which biofilm bacteria switch back to the planktonic mode of growth. Here, we demonstrate that P. aeruginosa dispersed cells display a virulence phenotype distinct from those of planktonic and biofilm cells. While the highest activity of cytotoxic and degradative enzyme

SUBMITTER: Li Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4047105 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature