Preliminary feasibility and modelling of a liquid matrix Dictyostelium discoideum virulence assay for Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Objectives: To develop and determine the feasibility of using a liquid matrix adaptation of the Dictyostelium discoideum bacterial virulence assay by testing on well-characterised clinical and environmental isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Materials And Methods: Axenic AX2 D. discoideum were co-cultured with clinical and environmental isolates of P.

Decreased virulence of cystic fibrosis Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Dictyostelium discoideum.

The characteristics of clinical and environmental isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from both hospital and community settings were analyzed in a eukaryotic virulence model employing the AX2 and X22 mutants of Dictyostelium discoideum. Thirty-one strains, including two Australian epidemic strains, of P. aeruginosa were analyzed, five from environmental sources, six from clinical sources other than cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and nineteen from CF patients' respiratory secretions.