Polymicrobial infections can select against Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutators because of quorum-sensing trade-offs

Adela M Luján*, Steve Paterson, Elze Hesse, Lea M Sommer, Rasmus L Marvig, M D Sharma, Ellinor O Alseth, Oana Ciofu, Andrea M Smania, Søren Molin, Helle Krogh Johansen, Angus Buckling

*Corresponding author for this work
10 Citations (Scopus)

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.

Original languageEnglish
JournalNature ecology & evolution
Volume6
Issue number7
Pages (from-to)979-988
Number of pages10
ISSN2397-334X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2022

Keywords

  • Coinfection/complications
  • Cystic Fibrosis/complications
  • Humans
  • Pseudomonas Infections/complications
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa/genetics
  • Quorum Sensing

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Polymicrobial infections can select against Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutators because of quorum-sensing trade-offs'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this