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

Microorganisms exist in a diverse ecosystem and have evolved many different mechanisms for sensing and influencing the polymicrobial environment around them, utilizing both diffusible and contact-dependent signals. Contact-dependent growth inhibition (CDI) is one such communication system employed by Gram-negative bacteria. In addition to CDI mediation of growth inhibition, recent studies have demonstrated CDI-mediated control of communal behaviors such as biofilm formation. We postulated that CDI may therefore play an active role in host-pathogen interactions, allowing invading strains to establish themselves at polymicrobial mucosal interfaces through competitive interactions while simultaneously facilitating pathogenic capabilities via CDI-mediated signaling. Here, we show that Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces two CDI systems capable of mediating competition under conditions of growth on a surface or in liquid. Furthermore, we demonstrated a novel role for these systems in contributing to virulence in acute infection models, likely via posttranscriptional regulation of beneficial behaviors. While we did not observe any role for the P. aeruginosa CDI systems in biofilm biogenesis, we did identify for the first time robust CDI-mediated competition during interaction with a mammalian host using a model of chronic respiratory tract infection, as well as evidence that CDI expression is maintained in chronic lung infections. These findings reveal a previously unappreciated role for CDI in host-pathogen interactions and emphasize their importance during infection. IMPORTANCE 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.