Phase Variation in HMW1A Controls a Phenotypic Switch in Haemophilus influenzae Associated with Pathoadaptation during Persistent Infection
Ariadna Fernández-Calvet, Begoña Euba, Celia Gil-Campillo, Arancha Catalan‐Moreno, Javier Moleres, Sara Martí, Alexandra Merlos, Jeroen D. Langereis, Francisco Garcı́a-del Portillo, Lauren O. Bakaletz, Garth D. Ehrlich, Eric A. Porsch, Margarita Menéndez, Joshua Chang Mell, Alejandro Toledo‐Arana, Junkal Garmendia
Abstract
phase variation lowers adhesin expression, which controls an NTHi lifestyle switch from high epithelial invasiveness to lower invasion and higher biofilm formation. This reversible loss of function aligns with the previously stated notion that epithelial infection is essential for NTHi infection establishment, but once established, persistence favors gene inactivation, in this case facilitating biofilm growth.
Topics & Concepts
Phase variationHaemophilus influenzaeBiologyPhenotypeMicrobiologyNicheAdaptation (eye)VirologyGeneticsAntibioticsGeneEcologyNeuroscienceBacterial Infections and VaccinesPneumonia and Respiratory InfectionsEscherichia coli research studies