Bistable Gene Expression in Deadly Hospital Pathogen

In August 2025, researchers reported bistable expression of the glpD gene in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

  • P. aeruginosa is a major opportunistic pathogen, responsible for fatal infections in burn victims, keratitis, urinary catheter infections, and hospital-acquired infections resistant to antibiotics.
  • The study showed that although glpD is a high-expression gene (HEG), its transcript levels varied widely across individual bacterial cells — some expressing it like a low-expression gene (LEG).
  • Experiments with wax moth (Galleria mellonella) larvae showed that P. aeruginosa lacking the glpD gene had significantly reduced virulence, highlighting glpD’s role in pathogenicity.
  • Researchers concluded that varying levels of glpD expression may be a survival and ....
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Ecology & Environment