Global reprogramming of virulence and antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa by a single nucleotide polymorphism in elongation factor, fusA1

Abstract

Clinical isolates of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa from patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) frequently contain mutations in the gene encoding an elongation factor, FusA1. Recent work has shown that fusA1 mutants often display elevated aminoglycoside resistance due to increased expression of the efflux pump, MexXY. However, we wondered whether these mutants might also be affected in other virulence-associated phenotypes. Here, we isolated a spontaneous gentamicin-resistant fusA1 mutant (FusA1P443L) in which mexXY expression was increased. Proteomic and transcriptomic analyses revealed that the fusA1 mutant also exhibited discrete changes in the expression of key pathogenici..