Exoprotease exploitation and social cheating in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa environmental lysogenic strain with a noncanonical quorum sensing system

• DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fiad086
• Publication Date: 2023-07-26T05:17:39Z
• Authors: Daniel Huelgas-Mé...; Daniel Cazares; Luis David Alcaraz; Corina Diana Ceapã; Miguel Cocotl-Yañez; Toya Shotaro; Toshinari Maeda; Ana María Fernánd...; Oswaldo Tostado-I...; Ana Lorena Gonzál...; Aldo Limones-Mart...; Carlos Eduardo He...; Karen González-Ga...; Luis Felipe Jimén...; Reyna-Lara Martínez; Cristian Sadalis ...; Fohad Mabood Husain; Altaf Khan; Mohammed Arshad; Kota Kokila; Thomas K Wood; Rodolfo García-Co...
• Keywords: Prophage; Lysogenic cycle; Strain (injury)

Social cheating is the exploitation of public goods that are costly metabolites, like exoproteases. Exoprotease in Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been studied reference strains. Experimental evolution with strains during continuous growth casein demonstrated nonexoprotease producers lasR mutants selected while they behave as social cheaters. However, noncanonical quorum-sensing systems exist P. strains, which diverse. In this work, exoproteases environmental strain ID4365 was evaluated; a nonsense mutation precludes expression LasR. produces under control RhlR, and harbors an inducible prophage. As expected, rhlR cheaters, exoprotease-deficient individuals accumulate upon casein. Moreover, all cultures, population collapses occur. also sometimes happens before cheaters dominate. Interestingly, casein, ID4565's native prophage induced, suggesting metabolic costs imposed by may increase its induction, promoting collapses. Accordingly, lysogenization PAO1 mutant accelerated collapse. These findings highlight influence temperate phages cheating.