Pyochelin biotransformation by Staphylococcus aureus shapes bacterial competition with Pseudomonas aeruginosa in polymicrobial infections.

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are among the most frequently isolated bacterial species from polymicrobial infections of patients with cystic fibrosis and chronic wounds. We apply mass spectrometry guided interaction studies to determine how chemical interaction shapes the fitness and community structure during co-infection of these two pathogens. We demonstrate that S. aureus is equipped with an elegant mechanism to inactivate pyochelin via the yet uncharacterized methyltransferase Spm (staphylococcal pyochelin methyltransferase). Methylation of pyochelin abolishes the siderophore activity of pyochelin and significantly lowers pyochelin-mediated intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in S. aureus. In a murine wound co-infection model, an S. aureus mutant unable to methylate pyochelin shows significantly lower fitness compared with its parental strain. Thus, Spm-mediated pyochelin methylation is a mechanism to increase S. aureus survival during in vivo competition with P. aeruginosa.

• Authors: Christian Jenul, Klara C Keim, Justin N Jens, Michael J Zeiler, Katrin Schilcher, Michael J Schurr, Christian Melander, Vanessa V Phelan, Alexander R Horswill
• Journal: Cell reports (Cell Rep) Vol. 42 Issue 6 Pg. 112540 (06 27 2023) ISSN: 2211-1247 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 37227819 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Chemical References

• pyochelin

Topics

• Humans
• Mice
• Animals
• Staphylococcus aureus (physiology)
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa (metabolism)
• Coinfection (microbiology)
• Staphylococcal Infections (microbiology)