Polymicrobial infections can select against <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> mutators because of quorum-sensing trade-offs



Lujan, Adela M, Paterson, Steve ORCID: 0000-0002-1307-2981, Hesse, Elze, Sommer, Lea M, Marvig, Rasmus L, Sharma, MD, Alseth, Ellinor O, Ciofu, Oana, Smania, Andrea M, Molin, Soren
et al (show 2 more authors) (2022) Polymicrobial infections can select against <i>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</i> mutators because of quorum-sensing trade-offs. NATURE ECOLOGY & EVOLUTION, 6 (7). 979-+.

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Abstract

Bacteria with increased mutation rates (mutators) are common in chronic infections and are associated with poorer clinical outcomes, especially in the case of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infecting cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. There is, however, considerable between-patient variation in both P. aeruginosa mutator frequency and the composition of co-infecting pathogen communities. We investigated whether community context might affect selection of mutators. Using an in vitro CF model community, we show that P. aeruginosa mutators were favoured in the absence of other species but not in their presence. This was because there were trade-offs between adaptation to the biotic and abiotic environments (for example, loss of quorum sensing and associated toxin production was beneficial in the latter but not the former in our in vitro model community) limiting the evolvability advantage of an elevated mutation rate. Consistent with a role of co-infecting pathogens selecting against P. aeruginosa mutators in vivo, we show that the mutation frequency of P. aeruginosa population was negatively correlated with the frequency and diversity of co-infecting bacteria in CF infections. Our results suggest that co-infecting taxa can select against P. aeruginosa mutators, which may have potentially beneficial clinical consequences.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Humans, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas Infections, Cystic Fibrosis, Quorum Sensing, Coinfection
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 13 Jun 2022 10:53
Last Modified: 18 Oct 2023 18:23
DOI: 10.1038/s41559-022-01768-1
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3156216