Genomic Differences Associated with Resistance and Virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates from Clinical and Environmental Sites

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a pathogen that causes healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) worldwide. It is unclear whether P. aeruginosa isolated from the natural environment has the same pathogenicity and antimicrobial resistance potential as clinical strains. In this study, virulence- and resistance-associated genes were compared in 14 genomic sequences of clinical and environmental isolates of P. aeruginosa using the VFDB, PATRIC, and CARD databases. All isolates were found to share 62% of virulence genes related to adhesion, motility, secretion systems, and quorum sensing and 72.9% of resistance genes related to efflux pumps and membrane permeability. Our results indicate that both types of isolates possess conserved genetic information associated with virulence and resistance mechanisms regardless of the source. However, none of the environmental isolates were associated with high-risk clones (HRCs). These clones (ST235 and ST111) were found only in clinical isolates, which have an impact on human medical epidemiology due to their ability to spread and persist, indicating a correlation between the clinical environment and increased virulence. The genomic variation and antibiotic susceptibility of environmental isolates of P. aeruginosa suggest potential biotechnological applications if obtained from sources that are under surveillance and investigation to limit the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistant strains