Subinhibitory concentration of kanamycin induces the pseudomonas aeruginosa type VI secretion system
Author(s)
Jones, Cerith
Allsopp, Luke
Horlick, Jack
Kulasekara, Hemantha
Filloux, Alain
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a Gram-negative bacterium found in natural environments including plants, soils and warm moist surfaces. This organism is also in the top ten of nosocomial pathogens, and prevalent in cystic fibrosis (CF) lung infections. The ability of P. aeruginosa to colonize a wide variety of environments in a lasting manner is associated with the formation of a resistant biofilm and the capacity to efficiently outcompete other microorganisms. Here we demonstrate that sub-inhibitory concentration of kanamycin not only induces biofilm formation but also induces expression of the type VI secretion genes in the H1-T6SS cluster. The H1-T6SS is known for its role in toxin production and bacterial competition. We show that the antibiotic induction of the H1-T6SS only occurs when a functional Gac/Rsm pathway is present. These observations may contribute to understand how P. aeruginosa responds to antibiotic producing competitors. It also suggests that improper antibiotic therapy may enhance P. aeruginosa colonization, including in the airways of CF patients.
Date Issued
2013-11-08
Date Acceptance
2013-10-09
Citation
PLoS ONE, 2013, 8 (11)
ISSN
1932-6203
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Journal / Book Title
PLoS ONE
Volume
8
Issue
11
Copyright Statement
© 2013 Jones et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Sponsor
Medical Research Council (MRC)
Identifier
http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000327216200117&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=1ba7043ffcc86c417c072aa74d649202
Grant Number
MR/K001930/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
COMPLETE GENOME SEQUENCE
CYCLIC DI-GMP
BIOFILM FORMATION
BACTERIAL 2ND-MESSENGER
PROTEIN SECRETION
VIRULENCE GENES
RETS
RNA
PATHOGENESIS
INFECTION
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
e81132
Date Publish Online
2013-11-08