Role of RgsA in oxidative stress resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract

AbstractPseudomonas aeruginosa is an extremely common opportunistic pathogen in clinical practice. Patients with metabolic disorders, hematologic diseases, malignancies, who have undergone surgery or who have received certain treatments are susceptible to this bacterium. In addition, P. aeruginosa is a multidrug-resistant that tends to form biofilms and is refractory to treatment. Small regulatory RNAs are RNA molecules that are 40–500 nucleotides long, possess regulatory function, are ubiquitous in bacteria, and are also known as small RNA (sRNA). sRNAs play important regulatory roles in various vital life processes in diverse bacteria and their quantity and diversity of regulatory functions exceeds that of proteins. In this study, we showed that deletion of the sRNA RgsA decreases the growth rate and ability to resist different concentrations and durations of peroxide in P. aeruginosa. These decreases occur not only in the planktonic state, but also in the biofilm state. Finally, protein mass spectrometry was employed to understand changes in the entire protein spectrum. The results presented herein provide a description of the role of RgsA in the life activities of P. aeruginosa at the molecular, phenotypic, and protein levels.