Novel Aminoglycoside-Tolerant Phoenix Colony Variants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen and is known to produce biofilms. We previously showed the emergence of colony variants in the presence of tobramycin-loaded calcium sulfate beads. In this study, we characterized the variant colonies, which survived the antibiotic treatment, and identified three distinct phenotypes—classically resistant colonies, viable but nonculturable colonies (VBNC), and phoenix colonies. Phoenix colonies, described here for the first time, grow out of the zone of clearance of antibiotic-loaded beads from lawn biofilms while there are still very high concentrations of antibiotic present, suggesting an antibiotic-resistant phenotype.