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Updated: Jul 17, 2025

Establishment of a High-throughput Setup for Screening Small Molecules That Modulate c-di-GMP Signaling in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Published on: June 30, 2016
Bacterial c-di-GMP has a key role in establishing host-microbe symbiosis
Nancy Obeng1, Anna Czerwinski1, Daniel Schütz1
1Department of Evolutionary Ecology and Genetics, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
Abstract:
Most microbes evolve faster than their hosts and should therefore drive evolution of host-microbe interactions. However, relatively little is known about the characteristics that define the adaptive path of microbes to host association. Here we identified microbial traits that mediate adaptation to hosts by experimentally evolving the free-living bacterium Pseudomonas lurida with the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as its host. After ten passages, we repeatedly observed the evolution of beneficial host-specialist bacteria, with improved persistence in the nematode being associated with increased biofilm formation. Whole-genome sequencing revealed mutations that uniformly upregulate the bacterial second messenger, cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP). We subsequently generated mutants with upregulated c-di-GMP in different Pseudomonas strains and species, which consistently increased host association. Comparison of pseudomonad genomes from various environments revealed that c-di-GMP underlies adaptation to a variety of hosts, from plants to humans. This study indicates that c-di-GMP is fundamental for establishing host association.
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