Hydrogen sulfide production does not affect antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) has been proposed to protect bacteria from antibiotics, pointing to H₂S-producing enzymes as possible targets for the development of antibiotic adjuvants. Here, MIC assays performed with Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutants producing altered H₂S levels demonstrate that H₂S does not affect antibiotic resistance in this bacterium. Moreover, correlation analyses in a large collection of P. aeruginosa cystic fibrosis isolates argue against the protective role of H₂S from antibiotic activity during chronic lung infection.