A genetic basis for Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm antibiotic resistance.
Nature
; 426(6964): 306-10, 2003 Nov 20.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-14628055
ABSTRACT
Biofilms are surface-attached microbial communities with characteristic architecture and phenotypic and biochemical properties distinct from their free-swimming, planktonic counterparts. One of the best-known of these biofilm-specific properties is the development of antibiotic resistance that can be up to 1,000-fold greater than planktonic cells. We report a genetic determinant of this high-level resistance in the Gram-negative opportunistic pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. We have identified a mutant of P. aeruginosa that, while still capable of forming biofilms with the characteristic P. aeruginosa architecture, does not develop high-level biofilm-specific resistance to three different classes of antibiotics. The locus identified in our screen, ndvB, is required for the synthesis of periplasmic glucans. Our discovery that these periplasmic glucans interact physically with tobramycin suggests that these glucose polymers may prevent antibiotics from reaching their sites of action by sequestering these antimicrobial agents in the periplasm. Our results indicate that biofilms themselves are not simply a diffusion barrier to these antibiotics, but rather that bacteria within these microbial communities employ distinct mechanisms to resist the action of antimicrobial agents.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
/
Biofilmes
/
Farmacorresistência Bacteriana
/
Antibacterianos
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Nature
Ano de publicação:
2003
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos