Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus are two of the most prevalent respiratory pathogens in cystic fibrosis patients. Both organisms often cause chronic and recalcitrant infections, in large part due to their ability to form biofilms, being these mixed-species infections correlated with poor clinical outcomes. In this study, the hypothesis that S. aureus adopts phenotypes allowing its coexistence with P. aeruginosa during biofilm growth was put forward. We noticed that S. aureus undergoes a viable but non-cultivable (VBNC) state in the dominated P. aeruginosa dual-species consortia, whatsoever the strains used to form the biofilms. Moreover, an increased expression of genes associated with S. aureus virulence was detected suggesting that the phenotypic switching to VBNC state might account for S. aureus pathogenicity and, in turn, influence the clinical outcome of the mixed-species infection. Thus, P. aeruginosa seems to induce both phenotypic and transcriptomic changes in S. aureus, helping its survival and coexistence in the dual-species biofilms. Overall, our findings illustrate how interspecies interactions can modulate bacterial virulence in vitro, contributing to a better understanding of the behaviour of P. aeruginosa–S. aureus dual-species biofilms.

中文翻译：

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可行但不可培养的状态：金黄色葡萄球菌可在铜绿假单胞菌双物种生物膜中存活的策略？

铜绿假单胞菌和金黄色葡萄球菌是囊性纤维化患者中最常见的两种呼吸道病原体。这两种生物通常会引起慢性和顽固性感染，这在很大程度上是由于它们能够形成生物膜，因为这些混合物种感染与不良的临床结果相关。在本研究中，假设S。金黄色葡萄球菌采用允许其与P共存的表型。提出了生物膜生长过程中的铜绿假单胞菌。我们注意到S . 金黄色葡萄球菌在受支配的P 中经历了可行但不可培养 (VBNC) 的状态。绿脓杆菌双物种联盟，无论用于形成生物膜的菌株。此外，与S相关基因的表达增加。检测到金黄色葡萄球菌毒力表明表型转换到 VBNC 状态可能是S 的原因。金黄色葡萄球菌的致病性，进而影响混合种感染的临床结果。因此，P。铜绿假单胞菌似乎诱导S 的表型和转录组变化。金黄色葡萄球菌，帮助其在双物种生物膜中生存和共存。总体而言，我们的研究结果说明了种间相互作用如何在体外调节细菌毒力，有助于更好地理解P的行为。铜绿假单胞菌-S。金黄色葡萄球菌双物种生物膜。