Genomic analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1-derivative containing a single nucleotide polymorphism in fusA1

The gene encoding elongation factor G, fusA1, is frequently mutated in clinical isolates of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from patients with cystic fibrosis. Recent work has shown that fusA1 mutants often display elevated aminoglycoside resistance due to increased expression of the aminoglycoside efflux pump, MexXY. We isolated a spontaneous gentamicin-resistant fusA1 mutant (FusA1-P443L) in which mexXY expression was increased. We compared the genome of this fusA1 mutant (EMC1) with the P. aeruginosa PAO1-derived progenitor strain (EMC0) and complemented mutant strain expressing the wild-type fusA1 gene in trans (EMC1*).