Metabolic basis for the evolution of a common pathogenic Pseudomonas aeruginosa variant

Microbes frequently evolve in reproducible ways. Here, we show that differences in specific metabolic regulation rather than inter-strain interactions explain the frequent presence of lasR loss-of-function (LOF) mutations in the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa. While LasR contributes to virulence through its role in quorum sensing, lasR mutants have been associated with more severe disease. A model based on the intrinsic growth kinetics for a wild type strain and its LasR(–) derivative, in combination with an experimental evolution based genetic screen and further genetics analyses, indicated that differences in metabolism were sufficient to explain the rise of these common mutant types. The evolution of LasR(–) lineages in laboratory and clinical isolates depended on activity of the two-component system CbrAB, which modulates substrate prioritization through the catabolite repression control pathway. LasR(–) lineages frequently arise in cystic fibrosis lung infections and their detection correlates with disease severity. Our analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid metabolomes identified compounds that negatively correlate with lung function, and we show that these compounds support enhanced growth of LasR(–) cells in a CbrB-controlled manner. We propose that in vivo metabolomes contribute to pathogen evolution, which may influence the progression of disease and its treatment.