Fitness of Salmonella mutants resistant to antimicrobial peptides

Objectives: To examine the effects of mutations in the waaY, phoP and pmrB genes, which confer resistance to antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), on fitness of Salmonella Typhimurium. Methods: Survival during low pH, oxidative stress, stationary-phase incubation, exposure to serum and bile and growth in mice and laboratory media were determined by time-kills, disc inhibition assays, competition experiments and optical density measurements. Results: Individual mutations in the waaY gene (involved in LPS core biosynthesis) and in the phoP and pmrB genes (part of two different two-component regulatory systems, phoPQ and pmrAB) conferred no or minor effects on bacterial survival during stressful in vitro conditions or in mice. In contrast, a waaY-phoP-pmrB triple mutant was compromised under most assay conditions. Conclusions: Results from this study show that AMP resistance can be cost-free, as assessed by several assays that attempt to mimic the conditions a bacterium might encounter within a host. Our findings imply that future therapeutic use of AMPs could select for fit mutants with cross-resistance to human defence peptides and that potential resistance development in response to therapeutic use of AMPs needs to be carefully monitored.