Flagellum and toxin phase variation impacts intestinal colonization and disease development in a mouse model of infection.

is a major nosocomial pathogen that can cause severe, toxin-mediated diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis. Recent work has shown that exhibits heterogeneity in swimming motility and toxin production through phase variation by site-specific DNA recombination. The recombinase RecV reversibly inverts the flagellar switch sequence upstream of the operon, leading to the ON/OFF expression of flagellum and toxin genes.

Characterization of Copper Resistance Reveals a Role in Virulence.

is often highly drug-resistant and causes severe infections in compromised patients. These infections can be life threatening due to limited treatment options. Copper is inherently antimicrobial and increasing evidence indicates that copper containing formulations may serve as non-traditional therapeutics against multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Measuring Intracellular Metal Concentration via ICP-MS Following Copper Exposure.

This chapter describes protocols for measuring fluctuation in intracellular metal concentration of A. baumannii isolates in response to copper exposure using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).

Testing Metal Sensitivity of A. baumannii Strains: Survival in Copper-Supplemented Liquid Media and on Copper-Containing Surfaces.

This chapter describes protocols for determining A. baumannii isolates' overall levels of sensitivity to heavy metals; copper is used as a model heavy metal. Measurements of the ability of strains to grow in the presence of various concentrations of copper in liquid media and on copper-containing surfaces are described.

Copper Resistance of the Emerging Pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii.

Unlabelled: Acinetobacter baumannii is an important emerging pathogen that is capable of causing many types of severe infection, especially in immunocompromised hosts. Since A. baumannii can rapidly acquire antibiotic resistance genes, many infections are on the verge of being untreatable, and novel therapies are desperately needed.