The Lon Protease Is Essential for Full Virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
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| Authors: | Elena B. M. Breidenstein Laure Janot Janine Strehmel Lucia Fernandez Patrick K. Taylor Irena Kukavica-Ibrulj Shaan L. Gellatly Roger C. Levesque Joerg Overhage Robert E. W. Hancock |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Centre for Microbial Diseases & Immunity Research, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.; 2. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Institute of Functional Interfaces, Karlsruhe, Germany.; 3. Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Québec City, Québec, Canada.; Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Belgium, |
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| Abstract: | Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 lon mutants are supersusceptible to ciprofloxacin, and exhibit a defect in cell division and in virulence-related properties, such as swarming, twitching and biofilm formation, despite the fact that the Lon protease is not a traditional regulator. Here we set out to investigate the influence of a lon mutation in a series of infection models. It was demonstrated that the lon mutant had a defect in cytotoxicity towards epithelial cells, was less virulent in an amoeba model as well as a mouse acute lung infection model, and impacted on in vivo survival in a rat model of chronic infection. Using qRT-PCR it was demonstrated that the lon mutation led to a down-regulation of Type III secretion genes. The Lon protease also influenced motility and biofilm formation in a mucin-rich environment. Thus alterations in several virulence-related processes in vitro in a lon mutant were reflected by defective virulence in vivo. |
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