Involvement of Pf-like phages in resistance to phage infection in clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa from cystic fibrosis patients

Blasco, L.; Barrio-Pujante, A.; Lopez-Causape, C.; Arman, L.; Bleriot, I.; Pacios, O.; Fernandez-Garcia, L.; Ortiz-Cartagena, C.; Ibarguren-Quiles, C.; Canton, R.; Oliver, A.; Tomas, M.

doi:10.1101/2024.05.03.592413

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2024.05.03.592413

Involvement of Pf-like phages in resistance to phage infection in clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa from cystic fibrosis patients

Blasco, L.·Barrio-Pujante, A.·Lopez-Causape, C.·Arman, L.·Bleriot, I.·Pacios, O.·Fernandez-Garcia, L.·Ortiz-Cartagena, C.·Ibarguren-Quiles, C.·Canton, R.·Oliver, A.·Tomas, M.

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a bacterial pathogen that is a major cause of lung infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) and other patients. Isolates of P. aeruginosa from CF patients commonly carry filamentous phages (Pf phages), a type of temperate phage known to be related to biofilm production and antibiotic sequestration. In this study, 12 new Pf-like phages were identified in a collection of clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa from CF patients. Analysis of the phage genomes revealed different anti-phage defence systems, described here for first time in these types of phages. Finally, relationships between resistance to phage infection and the presence of Pf-like phages and also between each defence system and resistance were observed. IMPORTANCEBacteria harbour a wide range of defence mechanisms to avoid phage infections. These mechanisms hamper the application of phage therapy because they can lead to the rapid acquisition of phage resistance. Temperate phages, including the filamentous phages, carry genes encoding virulence factors and also anti-phage defence mechanisms, as their survival depends on the host survival. In this study, we identified 12 new Pf-like phages encoding several different anti-phage defence mechanisms, some observed for the first time in this type of phage. A relationship between these phages and resistance to phage infection was also observed. The study findings are important as they provide information about newly discovered filamentous phages and their proteomes and also about the role of these phages in resistance to phage infections. Studying the genome of clinical isolates carrying these phages could help to improve phage therapy by targeting these phages or its genes.

Explore related subjects

microbiology Preprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Blasco, L., Barrio-Pujante, A., Lopez-Causape, C., Arman, L., Bleriot, I., Pacios, O., Fernandez-Garcia, L., Ortiz-Cartagena, C., Ibarguren-Quiles, C., Canton, R., Oliver, A., Tomas, M.. 2024-05-05. Involvement of Pf-like phages in resistance to phage infection in clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa from cystic fibrosis patients. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.05.03.592413

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

A population-scale landscape of the subgingival microbiome reveals divergent routes to periodontal dysbiosis

Periodontitis is an archetypical mucosal inflammatory disease in which microbiome dysbiosis at the tooth-epithelial interface interacts with host genetic and behavioral risk factors to drive immune-mediated tissue destruction. Although subgingival microbiome compositional shifts are thought to parallel disease severity, microbiome variation at the population-level and its relationship to periodontal clinical phenotypes and disease-modifying factors remain poorly defined. Here, we use unsupervised manifold learning to map the compositional landscape of the subgingival microbiome in 1,355 adults spanning periodontal health to severe periodontitis. We identified eight latent microbiome states organized along a branching continuum from eubiosis to dysbiosis. An intermediate microbial configuration marked ecological destabilization and bifurcation into two distinct periodontitis-associated dysbiotic trajectories, distinguished by links to gingival inflammation and smoking. Although the microbiome trajectories broadly tracked periodontal destruction, a minority of individuals showed discordant microbiome-clinical phenotypes, with some individuals with periodontitis retaining otherwise eubiotic microbiomes enriched for low-abundance pathobionts, while some cases of health or mild disease had highly dysbiotic communities, suggesting distinct host susceptibility. Together, these findings define a population-scale ecological landscape of the subgingival microbiome, reveal divergent trajectories to periodontal dysbiosis, and highlight heterogeneity in the relationship between microbial community structure and clinical disease expression.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2026

The iron-binding siderophore enterobactin is required for the response of multi-drug resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae to zinc limitation

To persist during infection Klebsiella pneumoniae must overcome nutrient iron and zinc limitation imposed by the host immune system through a process called nutritional immunity. Secreted small molecule siderophores are a major virulence determinant of Klebsiella pneumoniae pathogenesis and are presumed to overcome nutritional immunity by binding iron for bacterial acquisition. In this work, we set out to identify how a multi-drug resistant K. pneumoniae grows in zinc limited environments. Using unbiased transcriptomics, proteomics, and an arrayed transposon screen, we identified that synthesis and uptake of the siderophore enterobactin is required to allow for growth in low zinc conditions. Iron-specific chelators did not replicate this phenotype and addition of supplemental iron through heme in growth media could not complement severe growth defects of enterobactin mutant K. pneumoniae experiencing zinc limitation. Finally, zinc starvation induced enterobactin production independent of the canonical zinc uptake regulator (Zur) transcription factor suggesting an unidentified regulatory mechanism by which Gram-negative pathogens may respond to zinc stress. Together, these studies expand the role of enterobactin beyond iron regulation and highlight a previously unreported link between iron and zinc homeostasis in Klebsiella pneumoniae.

microbiology↗

bioRxiv2026

A microbiota-derived protease links phage susceptibility to host epithelial responses

Bacteriophages are major ecological drivers of gut microbial ecology, yet whether bacterial mechanisms that determine phage susceptibility have consequences for the mammalian host remains poorly understood. Here, we identify dipeptidyl peptidase 11 (Dpp11a), the predominant active serine protease of the prevalent gut commensal Phocaeicola vulgatus, as an unexpected bacterial defence factor. Dpp11a protects against environmental proteases and confers resistance to bacteriophage infection. Metatranscriptomic analyses further reveal increased expression of both dpp11a and P. vulgatus-associated phage transcripts in ulcerative colitis stool samples, indicating that both components of this interaction are transcriptionally active in disease-associated human microbiomes. Using the microfluidic gut-on-a-chip co-culture model HuMiX, we show that the absence of Dpp11 is accompanied by altered epithelial tight-junction remodelling during phage-bacterial infection. Together, our findings reveal that the consequences of bacterial phage defence can extend beyond phage-bacterium interactions to the mammalian epithelium.

microbiology↗