# The role of potable water as the pre-infection niche for Pseudomonas aeruginosa

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT & ST AGRIC COLLEGE · 2020 · $234,000

## Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an important human pathogen that causes infections in a variety of
body sites and causes ~8% of CDC-reported healthcare infections. Many P. aeruginosa infections are
caused directly by environmental isolates, primarily derived from the potable water system and related
fixtures. The low numerical abundance of P. aeruginosa in these environments conflicts with the ease
of infection, suggesting there is something fundamentally different about infection from the water
system compared to high-dose infection from rich media that are typically used for animal infection
models. We predict that the pre-infection niche is a critical component of the natural history of P.
aeruginosa infections and that a deeper understanding of this biology will provide novel ideas to
decrease exposure risks. Our goal in this proposal is to identify genes required for P. aeruginosa
survival in potable water environments and test the impact of potable water and potable-water
microbiome members on P. aeruginosa virulence. In data described here, we demonstrate that
exposing P. aeruginosa to potable water induces a number of genes involved in pathogenesis and
stimulates cytotoxicity in most strains, suggesting that this environment, compared to minimal or rich
media, prepares P. aeruginosa for infection. We propose to further investigate P. aeruginosa interaction
with the potable water environment via the following Specific Aims: (1) Determine the impact of potable
water and potable-water system bacteria on P. aeruginosa virulence and (2) Identify genes important
for P. aeruginosa survival in potable water and in association with potable-water system bacteria. Our
intent in this exploratory study is to approach the P. aeruginosa pre-infection niche with the same
emphasis given to the vector stage of vector-borne pathogens, as the P. aeruginosa pre-infection
lifestyle and its role in infection have not been systematically addressed.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9970398
- **Project number:** 5R21AI137453-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF VERMONT & ST AGRIC COLLEGE
- **Principal Investigator:** MATTHEW J WARGO
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $234,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-05 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9970398

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9970398, The role of potable water as the pre-infection niche for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (5R21AI137453-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9970398. Licensed CC0.

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