Genotypic diversity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in cystic fibrosis siblings in Qatar using AFLP fingerprinting

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is one of the primary pathogens in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Reports of the spread of epidemic or transmissible strains of P. aeruginosa within and across CF centers raised the possibility of clonal spread among siblings with CF. This work reports the genotypic relatedness of P. aeruginosa in CF patients with the CFTR I1234V mutation, and to determine whether the genotypes are identical among CF siblings and among different families with the same CFTR mutation. Sixty-six P. aeruginosa isolates were obtained from sputa/deep-pharyngeal swabs from 27 CF patients belonging to 17 families. Genotypic relatedness was assessed using amplified fragment-length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting. Twenty-three distinct genotypes of P. aeruginosa were identified. Eleven families each had one distinct genotype. In the other 6 families more than one genotype was observed; 3 families each showed two genotypes, 2 families each had three genotypes and 1 family had four genotypes of P. aeruginosa. In several cases, siblings with CF from the same family harbored the same strain of P. aeruginosa, which were different from the genotypes in other families. On the other hand, there was an overlap in P. aeruginosa between closely related families. Some patients show persistent colonization with the same genotype of P. aeruginosa over the longitudinal period. The presence of the same genotypes in siblings of the same family and closely related families suggests cross-transmission of P. aeruginosa or acquisition from common environmental exposure.

Genetic relatedness and host specificity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from cystic fibrosis and non-cystic fibrosis patients

“… 18 – 26 By employing amplified fragment-length polymorphism molecular fingerprinting, a previous study has shown similar distribution of P. aeruginosa isolates among siblings and closely related families, indicating person-to-person transmission of P. aeruginosa within the same family or infection of P. aeruginosa possibly acquired from common environmental exposure. 26 The PFGE of P. aeruginosa isolates was largely in agreement with the diversity found by amplified fragment-length polymorphism fingerprinting in several previous studies that showed that siblings with CF frequently carry identical P. aeruginosa isolates. 18 , 27 – 29 …”

Approaching two decades of cystic fibrosis research in Qatar: a historical perspective and future directions

“…Abdul Wahab later on studied the prevalence of Candida dubliniensis [37] and examined the genetic relatedness of Pseudomonas aeruginosa among CF patients and siblings with CF [38] as well as among CF versus non-CF patients [39]. During the following year, researchers compared the accuracy of bacterial identification methods using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry [40].…”