A Mildly Acidic Environment Alters Pseudomonas aeruginosa Virulence and Causes Remodeling of the Bacterial Surface

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a versatile pathogen that resists environmental stress, such as suboptimal pH. As a result of exposure to environmental stress, P. aeruginosa shows an altered virulence-related phenotype. This study investigated the modifications that P. aeruginosa undertakes at a mildly low pH (pH 5.0) compared with the bacteria grown in a neutral medium (pH 7.2). Results indicated that in a mildly acidic environment, expression of two-component system genes (phoP/phoQ and pmrA/pmrB), lipid A remodeling genes such as arnT and pagP and virulence genes, i.e., pqsE and rhlA, were induced. Moreover, lipid A of the bacteria grown at a mildly low pH is modified by adding 4-amino-arabinose (l-Ara4N). Additionally, the production of virulence factors such as rhamnolipid, alginate, and membrane vesicles is significantly higher in a mildly low-pH environment than in a neutral medium. Interestingly, at a mildly low pH, P. aeruginosa produces a thicker biofilm with higher biofilm biomass. Furthermore, studies on inner membrane viscosity and permeability showed that a mildly low pH causes a decrease in the inner membrane permeability and increases its viscosity. Besides, despite the importance of PhoP, PhoQ, PmrA, and PmrB in Gram-negative bacteria for responding to low pH stress, we observed that the absence of each of these two-component systems does not meaningfully impact the remodeling of the P. aeruginosa envelope. Given that P. aeruginosa is likely to encounter mildly acidic environments during infection in its host, the alterations that the bacterium undertakes under such conditions must be considered in designing antibacterial strategies against P. aeruginosa. IMPORTANCE P. aeruginosa encounters environments with acidic pH when establishing infections in hosts. The bacterium develops an altered phenotype to tolerate a moderate decrease in the environmental pH. At the level of the bacterial envelope, modified lipid A composition and a reduction of the bacterial inner membrane permeability and fluidity are among the changes P. aeruginosa undergoes at a mildly low pH. Also, the bacterium is more likely to form biofilm in a mildly acidic environment. Overall, these alterations in the P. aeruginosa phenotype put obstacles in the way of antibacterial activities. Thus, considering physiological changes in the bacterium at low pH helps design and implement antimicrobial approaches against this hostile microorganism.