Mechanisms of thermoregulation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a highly versatile opportunistic pathogen and a major cause of acute, chronic, and even lifelong respiratory infections in people with cystic fibrosis. It can also cause corneal infections, burn/wound infections, and bacteremia. P. aeruginosa is often found in human-associated environments such as hospitals, where it is a frequent cause of nosocomial catheter-associated urinary tract infections and ventilator-associated pneumonia. As a nosocomial pathogen, a major environmental change associated with transmission is the change from room or ambient temperature to human body temperature. P. aeruginosa is highly studied for its regulatory and adaptive responses to environmental stimuli, such as low iron conditions or the presence of antibiotics, but temperature regulation, or thermoregulation, is relatively understudied, particularly at a mechanistic level. This review explores the current understanding of mechanisms of global, transcriptional, post-transcriptional, and post-translational thermoregulation in P. aeruginosa, with a discussion on gaps in the field's knowledge and directions for future research. More mechanistic studies of thermoregulation inspired by the open questions presented here will improve our understanding of how P. aeruginosa adapts to different temperatures.