Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen which causes acute and chronic infections that are difficult to treat. Comparative genomic analysis has showed a great genome diversity among P. aeruginosa clinical strains and revealed important regulatory traits during chronic adaptation. While current investigation of epigenetics of P. aeruginosa is still lacking, understanding the epigenetic regulation may provide biomarkers for diagnosis and reveal important regulatory mechanisms. The present study focused on characterization of DNA methyltransferases (MTases) in a chronically adapted P. aeruginosa clinical strain TBCF10839. Single-molecule real-time sequencing (SMRT-seq) was used to characterize the methylome of TBCF. RCCANNNNNNNTGAR and TRGANNNNNNTGC were identified as target motifs of DNA MTases, M.PaeTBCFI and M.PaeTBCFII, respectively.
Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa chronically colonizes the lungs of individuals with CF, where it reaches high cell densities and produces a battery of virulence factors. Upon infection, a single strain of P. aeruginosa can colonize an individualâs lungs throughout his or her lifetime. To understand the evolution of P. aeruginosa during chronic lung infection, we conducted both genotypic and phenotypic analyses on clinical isogenic strains obtained from the lungs of three different individuals with CF. These strains were isolated over a period of approximately ten years and possess phenotypes that are commonly observed in isolates from the CF lung, such as the antibiotic resistant dwarf and mucoid phenotypes. Microarray analyses were carried out on isolates grown in a chemically defined medium that mimics the nutritional environment of the CF lung, synthetic CF sputum medium (SCFM). 17 clinically isolated P. aeruginosa strains from three individuals with CF (5 strains from individual P1, 7 strains from individual P2, 5 strains from individual P3). Two reference strains PAO1 and PA14. All experiments were biologically duplicated.
Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a troublesome opportunistic pathogen isolated from diverse environmental sources. An arsenal of degrading enzymes and antagonistic factors contribute to P. aeruginosa persistence and damage of a susceptible host. Largely through density-dependent regulation referred to as quorum sensing, the LasR, RhlR, and PqsR transcription factors collectively modulate hundreds of genes, including the expression of several virulence factors, in response to diffusible signals called autoinducers. LasR loss-of-function (LasR-) strains are commonly isolated from clinical samples and produce fewer toxins in monoculture, yet these strains are associated with worse clinical outcomes. We show that in co-culture with P. aeruginosa wild type where LasR loss-of-function strains are often found in vivo, ∆lasR hyperproduces RhlR/I dependent antagonistic factors. Specifically, we present a cyclic model of interaction between wild type and ∆lasR wherein the iron-scavenging siderophore pyochelin produced by the lasR mutant induces citrate release and cross-feeding from the wild type to ∆lasR to stimulate production of antagonistic factors with native functions involved in iron acquisition. Co-culture specific behaviors mediated by altered metabolite secretion and metabolism may explain complications associated with LasR loss-of-function strains. More broadly, this report illustrates how heterogenous behaviors within a mono-species community can promote antagonism associated with carbon and metal assimilation.
Project description:35 P. aeruginosa clinical strains were cultivated under standard conditions, characterized in terms of virulence and biofilm phenotype, and their metabolomes were investigated by untargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.
Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa chronically colonizes the lungs of individuals with CF, where it reaches high cell densities and produces a battery of virulence factors. Upon infection, a single strain of P. aeruginosa can colonize an individual’s lungs throughout his or her lifetime. To understand the evolution of P. aeruginosa during chronic lung infection, we conducted both genotypic and phenotypic analyses on clinical isogenic strains obtained from the lungs of three different individuals with CF. These strains were isolated over a period of approximately ten years and possess phenotypes that are commonly observed in isolates from the CF lung, such as the antibiotic resistant dwarf and mucoid phenotypes. Microarray analyses were carried out on isolates grown in a chemically defined medium that mimics the nutritional environment of the CF lung, synthetic CF sputum medium (SCFM).