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Iron-Regulated Expression of Alginate Production, Mucoid Phenotype, and Biofilm Formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Overview of attention for article published in mBio, February 2014
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116 Mendeley
Title
Iron-Regulated Expression of Alginate Production, Mucoid Phenotype, and Biofilm Formation by Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Published in
mBio, February 2014
DOI 10.1128/mbio.01010-13
Pubmed ID
Authors

Jacinta R. Wiens, Adriana I. Vasil, Michael J. Schurr, Michael L. Vasil

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains of non-cystic fibrosis (non-CF) origin do not produce significant amounts of extracellular alginate and are nonmucoid. In CF, such isolates can become mucoid through mutation of one of the genes (mucA, mucB, mucC, or mucD) that produce regulatory factors that sequester AlgU, required for increased expression of alginate genes. Mutation of the muc genes in the nonmucoid PAO1, PA14, PAKS-1, and Ps388 strains led to increased levels of extracellular alginate and an obvious mucoid phenotype, but only under iron-limiting growth conditions (≤5 µM), not under iron-replete conditions (≥10 µM). In contrast, >50% of P. aeruginosa isolates from chronic CF pulmonary infections expressed increased levels of alginate and mucoidy both under iron-limiting and iron-replete conditions (i.e., iron-constitutive phenotype). No single iron regulatory factor (e.g., Fur, PvdS) was associated with this loss of iron-regulated alginate expression and mucoidy in these CF isolates. However, the loss of only pyoverdine production, or its uptake, abrogated the ability of P. aeruginosa to produce a robust biofilm that represents the Psl-type of biofilm. In contrast, we show that mutation of the pyoverdine and pyochelin biosynthesis genes and the pyoverdine receptor (FpvA) lead to iron-constitutive expression of the key alginate biosynthesis gene, algD, and an explicitly mucoid phenotype in both iron-limiting and iron-replete conditions. These data indicate that alginate production and mucoidy, in contrast to other types of biofilms produced by P. aeruginosa, are substantially enhanced under iron limitation. These results also have compelling implications in relation to the use of iron chelators in the treatment of P. aeruginosa CF infections.

Mendeley readers

Mendeley readers

The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 116 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.

Geographical breakdown

Country Count As %
United States 1 <1%
Germany 1 <1%
Belgium 1 <1%
Canada 1 <1%
Unknown 112 97%

Demographic breakdown

Readers by professional status Count As %
Student > Ph. D. Student 29 25%
Researcher 17 15%
Student > Bachelor 13 11%
Other 10 9%
Student > Master 10 9%
Other 24 21%
Unknown 13 11%
Readers by discipline Count As %
Agricultural and Biological Sciences 39 34%
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology 17 15%
Immunology and Microbiology 16 14%
Medicine and Dentistry 10 9%
Engineering 6 5%
Other 11 9%
Unknown 17 15%
Attention Score in Context

Attention Score in Context

This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 2. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 06 March 2014.
All research outputs
#16,047,334
of 25,374,647 outputs
Outputs from mBio
#5,399
of 6,507 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#186,656
of 322,629 outputs
Outputs of similar age from mBio
#47
of 55 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,374,647 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 34th percentile – i.e., 34% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 6,507 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 25.0. This one is in the 14th percentile – i.e., 14% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
Older research outputs will score higher simply because they've had more time to accumulate mentions. To account for age we can compare this Altmetric Attention Score to the 322,629 tracked outputs that were published within six weeks on either side of this one in any source. This one is in the 39th percentile – i.e., 39% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
We're also able to compare this research output to 55 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 9th percentile – i.e., 9% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.