Compensatory evolution of Pseudomonas aeruginosa’s slow growth phenotype suggests mechanisms of adaptation in cystic fibrosis

Abstract

Long-term infection of cystic fibrosis patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa is often accompanied by a reduction in bacterial growth rate. Here, La Rosa et al. use adaptive laboratory evolution to increase the growth rate of clinical isolates, and identify mechanisms and evolutionary trajectories that, in reverse direction, may help the pathogen to adapt to the patients’ airways.