TY - JOUR
T1 - Malonate utilization by Pseudomonas aeruginosa affects quorum-sensing and virulence and leads to formation of mineralized biofilm-like structures
AU - Elmassry, Moamen M.
AU - Bisht, Karishma
AU - Colmer-Hamood, Jane A.
AU - Wakeman, Catherine A.
AU - San Francisco, Michael J.
AU - Hamood, Abdul N.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by NIH/NIGMS grant R15GM128072 to CAW and by the Burn Center of Research Excellence (BCoRE) in the Department of Surgery at TTUHSC, Lubbock, TX to ANH and MME. MME and KB were supported by the Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowships granted from Texas Tech University Graduate School, Lubbock, TX.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
PY - 2021/8
Y1 - 2021/8
N2 - Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that uses malonate among its many carbon sources. We recently reported that, when grown in blood from trauma patients, P. aeruginosa expression of malonate utilization genes was upregulated. In this study, we explored the role of malonate utilization and its contribution to P. aeruginosa virulence. We grew P. aeruginosa strain PA14 in M9 minimal medium containing malonate (MM9) or glycerol (GM9) as a sole carbon source and assessed the effect of the growth on quorum sensing, virulence factors, and antibiotic resistance. Growth of PA14 in MM9, compared to GM9, reduced the production of elastases, rhamnolipids, and pyoverdine; enhanced the production of pyocyanin and catalase; and increased its sensitivity to norfloxacin. Growth in MM9 decreased extracellular levels of N-acylhomoserine lactone autoinducers, an effect likely associated with increased pH of the culture medium; but had little effect on extracellular levels of PQS. At 18 hr of growth in MM9, PA14 formed biofilm-like structures or aggregates that were associated with biomineralization, which was related to increased pH of the culture medium. These results suggest that malonate significantly impacts P. aeruginosa pathogenesis by influencing the quorum sensing systems, the production of virulence factors, biofilm formation, and antibiotic resistance.
AB - Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that uses malonate among its many carbon sources. We recently reported that, when grown in blood from trauma patients, P. aeruginosa expression of malonate utilization genes was upregulated. In this study, we explored the role of malonate utilization and its contribution to P. aeruginosa virulence. We grew P. aeruginosa strain PA14 in M9 minimal medium containing malonate (MM9) or glycerol (GM9) as a sole carbon source and assessed the effect of the growth on quorum sensing, virulence factors, and antibiotic resistance. Growth of PA14 in MM9, compared to GM9, reduced the production of elastases, rhamnolipids, and pyoverdine; enhanced the production of pyocyanin and catalase; and increased its sensitivity to norfloxacin. Growth in MM9 decreased extracellular levels of N-acylhomoserine lactone autoinducers, an effect likely associated with increased pH of the culture medium; but had little effect on extracellular levels of PQS. At 18 hr of growth in MM9, PA14 formed biofilm-like structures or aggregates that were associated with biomineralization, which was related to increased pH of the culture medium. These results suggest that malonate significantly impacts P. aeruginosa pathogenesis by influencing the quorum sensing systems, the production of virulence factors, biofilm formation, and antibiotic resistance.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85105926145&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1111/mmi.14729
DO - 10.1111/mmi.14729
M3 - Article
C2 - 33892520
AN - SCOPUS:85105926145
VL - 116
SP - 516
EP - 537
JO - Molecular Microbiology
JF - Molecular Microbiology
SN - 0950-382X
IS - 2
ER -