This year, we celebrate Christmas early!
We are happy to announce the publication of our latest study, which identifies the sirB2 gene as a key fitness determinant of Pseudomonas aeruginosa under host-relevant, oxygen-limited conditions. In particular, we show that SirB2 supports redox homeostasis and anaerobic respiration, thereby contributing to bacterial adaptation in cystic fibrosis (CF) airways.
In particular, loss of sirB2 leads to redox imbalance and impaired anaerobic fitness, thereby triggering the emergence of rugose small-colony variants (RSCVs), enhanced biofilm formation, and increased virulence in multiple infection models. Our findings reveal a tight connection between metabolic state, phenotypic diversification, and pathogenic potential, highlighting redox homeostasis as a critical driver of chronic infection adaptation.
A particular thank you to Dr. Valerio Baldelli and Dr. Stacy Julisa Carrasco Aliaga, who jointly led this work and all collaborators involved in this multidisciplinary effort.
Read more here:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21505594.2025.2605800
Reference:
Baldelli, V., Carrasco Aliaga, S.J., Colque, C.A., Mazzola, F., Ravishankar, S., Johansen, H.K., Molin, S., Raffaelli, N., Paroni, M., Landini, P., & Rossi, E. (2025). The Pseudomonas aeruginosa sirB2 gene is a fitness determinant of anaerobic growth and its inactivation affects virulence and rugose small colony variants emergence. Virulence.