Pseudomonas aeruginosa Contact-Dependent Growth Inhibition Plays Dual Role in Host-Pathogen Interactions

Abstract

How bacteria compete and communicate with each other is an increasingly recognized aspect of microbial pathogenesis with a major impact on disease outcomes. Gram-negative bacteria have recently been shown to employ a contact-dependent toxin-antitoxin system to achieve both competition and regulation of their physiology. Here, we show that this system is vital for virulence in acute infection as well as for establishment of chronic infection in the multidrug-resistant pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Greater understanding of the mechanisms underlying bacterial virulence and infection is important for the development of effective therapeutics in the era of increasing antimicrobial resistance.