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Genomic and transcriptomic characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa small colony variants derived from a chronic infection model

Lookup NU author(s): Dr James ConnollyORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).


Abstract

© 2019 The Authors. Phenotypic change is a hallmark of bacterial adaptation during chronic infection. In the case of chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection in patients with cystic fibrosis, well-characterized phenotypic variants include mucoid and small colony variants (SCVs). It has previously been shown that SCVs can be reproducibly isolated from the murine lung following the establishment of chronic infection with mucoid P. aeruginosa strain NH57388A. Using a combination of single-molecule real-time (PacBio) and Illumina sequencing we identify a large genomic inversion in the SCV through recombination between homologous regions of two rRNA operons and an associated truncation of one of the 16S rRNA genes and suggest this may be the genetic switch for conversion to the SCV phenotype. This phenotypic conversion is associated with large-scale transcriptional changes distributed throughout the genome. This global rewiring of the cellular transcriptomic output results in changes to normally differentially regulated genes that modulate resistance to oxidative stress, central metabolism and virulence. These changes are of clinical relevance because the appearance of SCVs during chronic infection is associated with declining lung function.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Irvine S, Bunk B, Bayes HK, Sproer C, Connolly JPR, Six A, Evans TJ, Roe AJ, Overmann J, Walker D

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Microbial Genomics

Year: 2019

Volume: 5

Issue: 4

Pages: 1-11

Online publication date: 28/03/2019

Acceptance date: 10/03/2019

Date deposited: 20/09/2019

ISSN (electronic): 2057-5858

Publisher: Microbiology Society

URL: https://doi.org/10.1099/mgen.0.000262

DOI: 10.1099/mgen.0.000262

PubMed id: 30920365


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Funding

Funder referenceFunder name
201505/Z/16/Z
8000-105-3
G1000419

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