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A genetic basis for Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm antibiotic resistance

Author

Listed:
  • Thien-Fah Mah

    (Dartmouth Medical School)

  • Betsey Pitts

    (Montana State University)

  • Brett Pellock

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center)

  • Graham C. Walker

    (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

  • Philip S. Stewart

    (Montana State University)

  • George A. O'Toole

    (Dartmouth Medical School)

Abstract

Biofilms are surface-attached microbial communities with characteristic architecture and phenotypic and biochemical properties distinct from their free-swimming, planktonic counterparts1. One of the best-known of these biofilm-specific properties is the development of antibiotic resistance that can be up to 1,000-fold greater than planktonic cells2. We report a genetic determinant of this high-level resistance in the Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We have identified a mutant of P. aeruginosa that, while still capable of forming biofilms with the characteristic P. aeruginosa architecture, does not develop high-level biofilm-specific resistance to three different classes of antibiotics. The locus identified in our screen, ndvB, is required for the synthesis of periplasmic glucans. Our discovery that these periplasmic glucans interact physically with tobramycin suggests that these glucose polymers may prevent antibiotics from reaching their sites of action by sequestering these antimicrobial agents in the periplasm. Our results indicate that biofilms themselves are not simply a diffusion barrier to these antibiotics, but rather that bacteria within these microbial communities employ distinct mechanisms to resist the action of antimicrobial agents.

Suggested Citation

  • Thien-Fah Mah & Betsey Pitts & Brett Pellock & Graham C. Walker & Philip S. Stewart & George A. O'Toole, 2003. "A genetic basis for Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm antibiotic resistance," Nature, Nature, vol. 426(6964), pages 306-310, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:426:y:2003:i:6964:d:10.1038_nature02122
    DOI: 10.1038/nature02122
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    Cited by:

    1. Kulyash Meiramkulova & Aliya Temirbekova & Gulnur Saspugayeva & Assel Kydyrbekova & Davud Devrishov & Zhanar Tulegenova & Karlygash Aubakirova & Nataliya Kovalchuk & Abdilda Meirbekov & Timoth Mkilima, 2021. "Performance of a Combined Treatment Approach on the Elimination of Microbes from Poultry Slaughterhouse Wastewater," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-12, March.
    2. Yi-Fei Wang & Yan-Jie Liu & Yan-Mei Fu & Jia-Yang Xu & Tian-Lun Zhang & Hui-Ling Cui & Min Qiao & Matthias C. Rillig & Yong-Guan Zhu & Dong Zhu, 2024. "Microplastic diversity increases the abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in soil," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-15, December.

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