Project description:The ParS/ParR two component regulatory system plays important roles for multidrug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this study we report RNA-seq analyses of the transcriptomes of P. aeruginosa PAO1 wild type and par mutants growing in a minimal medium containing 2% casamino acids. This has allowed the quantification of PAO1 transcriptome, and further defines the regulon that is dependent on the ParS/ParR system for expression. Our RNA-seq analysis produced the first estimates of absolute transcript abundance for the 5570 coding genes in P. aeruginosa PAO1. Comparative transcriptomics of P. aeruginosa PAO1 and par mutants identified a total of 464 genes regulated by ParS and ParR. Results also showed that mutations in the parS/parR system abolished the expression of the mexEF-oprN operon by down-regulating the regulatory gene mexS. In addition to affecting drug resistance genes, transcripts of quorum sensing genes (rhlIR and pqsABCDE-phnAB), were significantly up-regulated in both parS and parR mutants. Consistent with these results, a significant portion of the ParS/ParR regulated genes belonged to the MexEF-OprN and quorum sensing regulons. Deletion of par genes also lead to overproduction of phenazines and increased swarming motility, consistent with the up-regulation of quorum sensing genes. Our results established a link among ParS/ParR, MexEF-OprN and quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Based on these results, we propose a model to illustrate the relationship among these regulatory systems in P. aeruginosa.
Project description:The ParS/ParR two component regulatory system plays important roles for multidrug resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this study we report RNA-seq analyses of the transcriptomes of P. aeruginosa PAO1 wild type and par mutants growing in a minimal medium containing 2% casamino acids. This has allowed the quantification of PAO1 transcriptome, and further defines the regulon that is dependent on the ParS/ParR system for expression. Our RNA-seq analysis produced the first estimates of absolute transcript abundance for the 5570 coding genes in P. aeruginosa PAO1. Comparative transcriptomics of P. aeruginosa PAO1 and par mutants identified a total of 464 genes regulated by ParS and ParR. Results also showed that mutations in the parS/parR system abolished the expression of the mexEF-oprN operon by down-regulating the regulatory gene mexS. In addition to affecting drug resistance genes, transcripts of quorum sensing genes (rhlIR and pqsABCDE-phnAB), were significantly up-regulated in both parS and parR mutants. Consistent with these results, a significant portion of the ParS/ParR regulated genes belonged to the MexEF-OprN and quorum sensing regulons. Deletion of par genes also lead to overproduction of phenazines and increased swarming motility, consistent with the up-regulation of quorum sensing genes. Our results established a link among ParS/ParR, MexEF-OprN and quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Based on these results, we propose a model to illustrate the relationship among these regulatory systems in P. aeruginosa. A total of 9 samples were analyzed in AB medium + 2% casamino acids, Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 wild type strain (3 replicates); Pseudomonas aeruginosa parS mutant (3 replicates); Pseudomonas aeruginosa parR mutant (3 replicates).
Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa sadB mutants exhibit a hyper-swarming but biofilm defective phenotype. To acquire insights into the contribution of sadB to virulence, we employed bioluminescence imaging and histopathology of mouse soft tissue infection. Compared with the parent PAO1 strain, the ΔsadB mutant was highly attenuated and rapidly cleared from the infection site whereas genetic complementation conferring constitutive expression of sadB resulted in a more invasive phenotype than the parent strain. Transcriptome analysis via RNA-seq of exponential and stationary phase planktonic cells revealed that SadB has a more global role than previously appreciated and acts as a pleiotropic regulator of diverse genes involved in biofilm development, quorum sensing (QS), secondary metabolite production, iron acquisition, virulence, protein secretion and anaerobiosis. In ΔsadB, we observed early induction of the rhl and pqs QS systems, increased production of siderophores and pyocyanin, changes in the expression of genes involved in c-diGMP signalling and a growth defect in under static but not shaking conditions. Since ΔsadB is a hyperswarmer and as swarming requires rhamnolipids, this suggested that deletion of sadB may impact on the timing and level of rhamnolipids produced. In ΔsadB, the rhlA and rhlB genes were induced in log rather than stationary phase resulting in overproduction of rhamnolipids likely as a consequence of the up-regulation of the rhl and pqs QS systems. Since rhamnolipids also contribute to biofilm maturation and dispersal and can act as anti-adhesives, we deleted the rhlA in ΔsadB and observed that biofilm formation was restored offering mechanistic insight into the biofilm defective phenotype of ΔsadB.
Project description:We report a next-generation sequencing of total RNA from Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 grown in presence of rosmarinic acid (RA) 100mM. Data analysis in comparison with cells grown in absence of RA revealed that the plant compound RA induces a broad transcriptional response in this bacterium, quite similar to the quorum sensing response.
Project description:Colistin is an important cationic antimicrobial peptide (CAMP) in the fight against Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection within the cystic fibrosis (CF) lungs. The effects of sub-inhibitory colistin on gene expression in P. aeruginosa were investigated by transcriptome microarray and functional analysis. Analysis revealed an alteration in the expression of 60 genes in total from a variety of pathways. Genes associated with bacterial chronic colonisation and virulence such as response to osmotic stress, motility, and biofilm formation, as well as those associated with LPS modification and quorum sensing are the most highly represented. Most striking among these is the upregulation of the PQS biosynthesis operon including pqsH, pqsE, and the anthranilate biosynthetic genes phnAB. Early activation of this central component of the QS-network may represent a switch to a more robust population, with increased fitness in the competitive environment of the CF-lung.
Project description:Virulence factor production and the development of biofilms in Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been shown to be regulated by two hierarchically organised quorum sensing (QS) systems via small acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) signal molecules. Recently, a third bacterial signal molecule, the Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS), has been identified, which positively regulates a subset of genes dependent on the QS systems. To further dissect the various independent regulation levels for many QS induced genes and to evaluate the impact of PQS on the QS circuitry, we performed a transcriptome analysis of PAO1 cultures supplemented with PQS. The global transcriptional profile in response to PQS revealed a marked up-regulation of genes belonging to the tightly interdependent functional groups of iron acquisition and oxidative stress response. Remarkably, not only most of the differentially regulated genes but also the induction of a lacZ transcriptional fusion of rhlR could be traced back to a iron chelating effect of PQS. Nevertheless, although iron deficiency per se induced rhlR, there seems to be PQS specific effects that are independent of the PQS effect on P. aeruginosa iron homeostasis Keywords: PQS response
Project description:The Pseudomonas aeruginosa Orphan Quorum Sensing Signal Receptor QscR Regulates Global Quorum Sensing Gene Expression by Activating a Single Linked Operon