Phenotypic and Genotypic Comparison of Epidemic and Non-Epidemic Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Individuals with Cystic Fibrosis.

Epidemic strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been found worldwide among the cystic fibrosis (CF) patient population. Using pulse-field gel electrophoresis, the Prairie Epidemic Strain (PES) has recently been found in one-third of patients attending the Calgary Adult CF Clinic in Canada. Using mul...

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Main Authors: Jessica Duong, Sean C Booth, Nathan K McCartney, Harvey R Rabin, Michael D Parkins, Douglas G Storey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143466
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author Jessica Duong
Sean C Booth
Nathan K McCartney
Harvey R Rabin
Michael D Parkins
Douglas G Storey
author_facet Jessica Duong
Sean C Booth
Nathan K McCartney
Harvey R Rabin
Michael D Parkins
Douglas G Storey
author_sort Jessica Duong
collection DOAJ
description Epidemic strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been found worldwide among the cystic fibrosis (CF) patient population. Using pulse-field gel electrophoresis, the Prairie Epidemic Strain (PES) has recently been found in one-third of patients attending the Calgary Adult CF Clinic in Canada. Using multi-locus sequence typing, PES isolates from unrelated patients were found to consistently have ST192. Though most patients acquired PES prior to enrolling in the clinic, some patients were observed to experience strain replacement upon transitioning to the clinic whereby local non-epidemic P. aeruginosa isolates were displaced by PES. Here we genotypically and phenotypically compared PES to other P. aeruginosa epidemic strains (OES) found around the world as well as local non-epidemic CF P. aeruginosa isolates in order to characterize PES. Since some epidemic strains are associated with worse clinical outcomes, we assessed the pathogenic potential of PES to determine if these isolates are virulent, shared properties with OES, and if its phenotypic properties may offer a competitive advantage in displacing local non-epidemic isolates during strain replacement. As such, we conducted a comparative analysis using fourteen phenotypic traits, including virulence factor production, biofilm formation, planktonic growth, mucoidy, and antibiotic susceptibility to characterize PES, OES, and local non-epidemic isolates. We observed that PES and OES could be differentiated from local non-epidemic isolates based on biofilm growth with PES isolates being more mucoid. Pairwise comparisons indicated that PES produced significantly higher levels of proteases and formed better biofilms than OES but were more susceptible to antibiotic treatment. Amongst five patients experiencing strain replacement, we found that super-infecting PES produced lower levels of proteases and elastases but were more resistant to antibiotics compared to the displaced non-epidemic isolates. This comparative analysis is the first to be completed on a large scale between groups of epidemic and non-epidemic CF P. aeruginosa isolates.
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spelling doaj.art-eee9c309b7ab4e02a0a9525c14cd4b372022-12-21T18:25:22ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-011011e014346610.1371/journal.pone.0143466Phenotypic and Genotypic Comparison of Epidemic and Non-Epidemic Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Individuals with Cystic Fibrosis.Jessica DuongSean C BoothNathan K McCartneyHarvey R RabinMichael D ParkinsDouglas G StoreyEpidemic strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa have been found worldwide among the cystic fibrosis (CF) patient population. Using pulse-field gel electrophoresis, the Prairie Epidemic Strain (PES) has recently been found in one-third of patients attending the Calgary Adult CF Clinic in Canada. Using multi-locus sequence typing, PES isolates from unrelated patients were found to consistently have ST192. Though most patients acquired PES prior to enrolling in the clinic, some patients were observed to experience strain replacement upon transitioning to the clinic whereby local non-epidemic P. aeruginosa isolates were displaced by PES. Here we genotypically and phenotypically compared PES to other P. aeruginosa epidemic strains (OES) found around the world as well as local non-epidemic CF P. aeruginosa isolates in order to characterize PES. Since some epidemic strains are associated with worse clinical outcomes, we assessed the pathogenic potential of PES to determine if these isolates are virulent, shared properties with OES, and if its phenotypic properties may offer a competitive advantage in displacing local non-epidemic isolates during strain replacement. As such, we conducted a comparative analysis using fourteen phenotypic traits, including virulence factor production, biofilm formation, planktonic growth, mucoidy, and antibiotic susceptibility to characterize PES, OES, and local non-epidemic isolates. We observed that PES and OES could be differentiated from local non-epidemic isolates based on biofilm growth with PES isolates being more mucoid. Pairwise comparisons indicated that PES produced significantly higher levels of proteases and formed better biofilms than OES but were more susceptible to antibiotic treatment. Amongst five patients experiencing strain replacement, we found that super-infecting PES produced lower levels of proteases and elastases but were more resistant to antibiotics compared to the displaced non-epidemic isolates. This comparative analysis is the first to be completed on a large scale between groups of epidemic and non-epidemic CF P. aeruginosa isolates.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143466
spellingShingle Jessica Duong
Sean C Booth
Nathan K McCartney
Harvey R Rabin
Michael D Parkins
Douglas G Storey
Phenotypic and Genotypic Comparison of Epidemic and Non-Epidemic Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Individuals with Cystic Fibrosis.
PLoS ONE
title Phenotypic and Genotypic Comparison of Epidemic and Non-Epidemic Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Individuals with Cystic Fibrosis.
title_full Phenotypic and Genotypic Comparison of Epidemic and Non-Epidemic Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Individuals with Cystic Fibrosis.
title_fullStr Phenotypic and Genotypic Comparison of Epidemic and Non-Epidemic Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Individuals with Cystic Fibrosis.
title_full_unstemmed Phenotypic and Genotypic Comparison of Epidemic and Non-Epidemic Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Individuals with Cystic Fibrosis.
title_short Phenotypic and Genotypic Comparison of Epidemic and Non-Epidemic Strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Individuals with Cystic Fibrosis.
title_sort phenotypic and genotypic comparison of epidemic and non epidemic strains of pseudomonas aeruginosa from individuals with cystic fibrosis
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143466
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