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Epidemiological markers for pseudomonas aeruginosa
Acta Pathologica Et Microbiologica Scandinavica. Section B, Microbiology
|February 1, 1975
Summary
Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains remained stable before phage infection but showed serogroup changes after infection. Lyophilization caused converted strains to revert, impacting P. aeruginosa epidemiological typing stability.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Bacteriology
- Virology
Background:
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen with significant clinical relevance.
- Bacteriophage interactions can alter bacterial characteristics, including serogroup specificity.
- Epidemiological typing of P. aeruginosa is crucial for infection control and outbreak investigations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the stability of Pseudomonas aeruginosa serogroup specificity and phage sensitivity in vivo.
- To determine the impact of phage infection on bacterial serotype and lysotype.
- To assess the reversibility of phage-induced conversions in P. aeruginosa.
Main Methods:
- Maintaining a non-lysogenic P. aeruginosa strain in ex-germfree rats for 10 weeks.
- Infecting mono-contaminated rats with specific bacteriophages.
- Comparing in vitro and in vivo phage conversion results.
- Analyzing serogroup specificity and lysotype before and after phage infection.
- Evaluating the effect of lyophilization on converted bacterial clones.
Main Results:
- P. aeruginosa maintained stable serogroup specificity and phage sensitivity for 10 weeks prior to phage infection.
- Phage infection induced conversions in serogroup specificity and lysotype, both in vitro and in vivo.
- In vitro conversions yielded serogroups not observed in vivo.
- Lyophilization of in vivo converted clones resulted in loss of phage and reversion to the original P. aeruginosa serogroup and phage type.
Conclusions:
- Phage-induced serogroup conversions in P. aeruginosa are reversible upon lyophilization.
- The stability of P. aeruginosa serogroup specificity in vivo is influenced by phage interactions.
- Findings suggest caution regarding the interpretation of long-term epidemiological typing results for P. aeruginosa due to potential phage-mediated instability.