Within-Host Evolution of Burkholderia pseudomallei during Chronic Infection of Seven Australasian Cystic Fibrosis Patients.

ABSTRACT: Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder characterized by progressive lung function decline. CF patients are at an increased risk of respiratory infections, including those by the environmental bacterium Burkholderia pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis. Here, we compared the genomes of B. pseudomallei isolates collected between ~4 and 55 months apart from seven chronically infected CF patients. Overall, the B. pseudomallei strains showed evolutionary patterns similar to those of other chronic infections, including emergence of antibiotic resistance, genome reduction, and deleterious mutations in genes involved in virulence, metabolism, environmental survival, and cell wall components. We documented the first reported B. pseudomallei hypermutators,

SUBMITTER: Viberg LT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5388805 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature