Mutation of hmgA, encoding homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase, is responsible for pyomelanin production but does not impact the virulence of Burkholderia cenocepacia in a chronic granulomatous disease mouse lung infection.

Abstract

The Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) is a group of Gram-negative opportunistic bacteria often associated with fatal pulmonary infections in patients with impaired immunity, particularly those with cystic fibrosis (CF) and chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). Some Bcc strains are known to naturally produce pyomelanin, a brown melanin-like pigment known for scavenging free radicals; pigment production has been reported to enable Bcc strains to overcome the host cell oxidative burst. In this work, we investigated the role of pyomelanin in resistance to oxidative stress and virulence in strains J2315 and K56-2, two epidemic CF isolates belonging to the Burkholderia cenocepacia ET-12 lineage. We previously reported that a single amino acid change from glycine to arginine at residue 378 in homogentisate 1,2-dioxygenase (HmgA) affects the pigment production phenotype: pigmented J2315 has an arginine at position 378, while non-pigmented K56-2 has a glycine at this position. Herein, we performed allelic exchange to generate isogenic non-pigmented and pigmented strains of J2315 and K56-2, respectively, and tested these to determine whether pyomelanin contributes to the protection against oxidative stress in vitro as well as in a respiratory infection in CGD mice in vivo. Our results indicate that the altered pigment phenotype does not significantly impact these strains' ability to resist oxidative stress with H2O2 and NO in vitro and did not change the virulence and infection outcome in CGD mice in vivo suggesting that other factors besides pyomelanin are contributing to the pathophysiology of these strains.IMPORTANCEThe Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc) is a group of Gram-negative opportunistic bacteria that are often associated with fatal pulmonary infections in patients with impaired immunity, particularly those with cystic fibrosis and chronic granulomatous disease (CGD). Some Bcc strains are known to naturally produce pyomelanin, a brown melanin-like pigment known for scavenging free radicals and overcoming the host cell oxidative burst. We investigated the role of pyomelanin in Burkholderia cenocepacia strains J2315 (pigmented) and K56-2 (non-pigmented) and performed allelic exchange to generate isogenic non-pigmented and pigmented strains, respectively. Our results indicate that the altered pigment phenotype does not significantly impact these strains' ability to resist H2O2 or NO in vitro and did not alter the outcome of a respiratory infection in CGD mice in vivo. These results suggest that pyomelanin may not always constitute a virulence factor and suggest that other features are contributing to the pathophysiology of these strains.