A Large-Scale Whole-Genome Comparison Shows that Experimental Evolution in Response to Antibiotics Predicts Changes in Naturally Evolved Clinical Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that causes a wide range of acute and chronic infections. An increasing number of isolates have mutations that make them antibiotic resistant, making treatment difficult. To identify resistance-associated mutations, we experimentally evolved the antibiotic-sensitive strain P. aeruginosa PAO1 to become resistant to three widely used antipseudomonal antibiotics, namely, ciprofloxacin, meropenem, and tobramycin.