Refining the Application of Microbial Lipids as Tracers of Staphylococcus aureus Growth Rates in Cystic Fibrosis Sputum.

ABSTRACT: Chronic lung infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) could be treated more effectively if the effects of antimicrobials on pathogens in situ were known. Here, we compared changes in the microbial community composition and pathogen growth rates in longitudinal studies of seven pediatric CF patients undergoing intravenous antibiotic administration during pulmonary exacerbations. The microbial community composition was determined by counting rRNA with NanoString DNA analysis, and growth rates were obtained by incubating CF sputum with heavy water and tracing incorporation of deuterium into two branched-chain ("anteiso") fatty acids (a-C15:0 and a-C17:0) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Prior to this study, both lipids were thought to be specific for Staphylococcaceae; hence, the

SUBMITTER: Neubauer C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6256016 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature