Project description:We report a study conducted to investigate the variation on gene expression of the pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigatus upon co-cultivation with the pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The study was conducted by investigating the gene expression variation at different time points (45, 90 and 180 minutes after co-incubation). As control, we used data obtained by cultivating the fungus either without bacteria, or with heat-inactivated Pseudomonas.
Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa is known to tolerate antibiotic therapy during infection. This prevents clearance of infection and negatively impacts patient outcomes. Here, we report the transcriptome sequence of antibiotic-treated and untreated P. aeruginosa cultures and the differential gene expression observed when treated cells are compared to untreated cells.
Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a common pathogen in the lungs of the cystic fibrosis patients. As infection develops the organism progressively adapts to its environment and its mode of pathogenesis alters, frequently including the loss of quorum sensing (QS) regulated virulence factors. We used microarrays to determine genomic differences by comparative genome hybridisation between two P. aeruginosa isolates from CF patients, one of which exhibited an active quorum sensing (QS) system (UUPA38) typical of early acute infection while the other was QS-compromised (UUPA85) typical of chronic CF-adapted infection.
Project description:Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a critical priority pathogen, whose proclivity to establish chronic infections and to resist antibiotic treatment is intimately linked to its ability to form biofilms at the infection site. Recent developments in our understanding of these biofilms has pointed to the fact that the surface-bound biofilms recapitulated by in vitro models do not sufficiently capture the type of biofilms that occur in infection sites, such as the CF lung. This study aimed to develop a straightforward and medium throughput model for free floating biofilms, alongside a protocol that permits fractionating of the biofilm into its constituent parts. The RNA-seq investigation takes the cells fraction at three timepoints in biofilm development (and one point in a planktonic culture for comparison), to ask what genes are driving the development of these free floating aggregate biofilms.
Project description:Transcriptomic, metabolomic, physiological, and computational modeling approaches were integrated to gain insight into the mechanisms of antibiotic tolerance in an in vitro biofilm system. Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms were grown in drip-flow reactors on a medium composed to mimic the exudate from a chronic wound (CWE). After 72 hours, the biofilms were treated with CWE (control biofilms) or CWE containing ciprofloxacin (treated biofilms) for an additional 24 hours. Planktonic samples were cultivated to early logarithmic phase in CWE. The biofilm specific growth rate was estimated via elemental balances to be approximately 0.37 h-1, or one-third of the planktonic maximum specific growth rate. Global analysis of gene expression indicated decreased anabolic activity in biofilms compared to planktonic cells. A focused transcriptomic analysis revealed the induction of multiple stress responses in biofilm cells, including those associated with growth arrest, zinc limitation, hypoxia, and acyl-homoserine lactone quorum sensing.
