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Influence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pvdQ Gene on Altering Antibiotic Susceptibility Under Swarming Conditions

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Abstract

In Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1, the pvdQ gene has been shown to have at least two functions. It encodes the acylase enzyme and hydrolyzes 3-oxo-C12-HSL, the key signaling molecule of quorum sensing system. In addition, pvdQ is involved in swarming motility. It is required for up-regulated during swarming motility, which is triggered by high cell densities. As high-density bacterial populations also display elevated antibiotic resistance, studies have demonstrated that swarm-cell differentiation in P. aeruginosa promotes increased resistance to various antibiotics. PvdQ acts as a signal during swarm-cell differentiation, and thus may play a role in P. aeruginosa antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study is to examine whether pvdQ was involved in modifying antibiotic susceptibility during swarming conditions, and to investigate the mechanism by which this occurred. We constructed the PAO1pMEpvdQ strain, which overproduced PvdQ. PAO1pMEpvdQ promotes swarming motility, while PAO1ΔpvdQ abolishes swarming motility. In addition, both PAO1 and PAO1pMEpvdQ acquired resistance to ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, meropenem, polymyxin B, and gentamicin, though PAO1pMEpvdQ exhibited a two to eightfold increase in antibiotic resistance compared to PAO1. These results indicate that pvdQ plays an important role in elevating antibiotic resistance via swarm-cell differentiation and possibly other mechanisms as well. We analyzed outer membrane permeability. Our data also suggest that pvdQ decreases P. aeruginosa outer membrane permeability, thereby elevating antibiotic resistance under swarming conditions. Our results suggest new approaches for reducing P. aeruginosa resistance.

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Acknowledgment

This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (30873189), China National 973 project (MOST, 2007CB512900).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Infectious Diseases, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, 430030, Hubei, China

    Lili Wang, Fengyun Gong, Xuhua Xie, Chao Xia, Jia Chen, Ying Song, Aixia Shen & Jianxin Song

  2. Department of Respiratory Medicine, Central Hospital of Qingdao, Qingdao, 266042, Shandong, China

    Lili Wang & Chunling Zhang

  3. Department of Oncology, Affiliated People’s 6th Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200233, China

    Hongtao Li

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  1. Lili Wang
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Correspondence to Jianxin Song.

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Wang, L., Zhang, C., Gong, F. et al. Influence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa pvdQ Gene on Altering Antibiotic Susceptibility Under Swarming Conditions. Curr Microbiol 63, 377 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-011-9979-0

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