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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0PeerJ

Evaluation of pyocin activity and pyocin-related gene distribution in multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from Thailand

  • Phatcharin Laosena1
  • Punthira Suppaiboolkij2
  • Pornpavee Nualnisachol1
  • Daniel Walker3
  • Jiraphan Premsuriya1,4
4 affiliations
  1. 1Princess Srisavangavadhana Faculty of Medicine, Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand.
  2. 2Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand.
  3. 3Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
  4. 4Research Center on Clinical and System Microbiology (RCSyM), Chulabhorn Royal Academy, Bangkok, Thailand.
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Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa remains a major cause of healthcare-associated infections worldwide, with clinical management increasingly compromised by the emergence and dissemination of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) lineages. In this study, we evaluated the antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of purified S-type pyocins (AP41, SX1, SX2, G, S5, and M1) against a panel of 29 MDR or XDR clinical P. aeruginosa isolates collected from across Thailand in 2021–2022, integrating phenotypic data with comparative genomic analyses. Susceptibility screening using overlay spot assays identified AP41, SX1, and SX2 as the pyocins with the broadest activity. These pyocins exhibited potent killing activity across MDR and XDR isolates, including strains resistant to last-resort antibiotics such as carbapenems and colistin. Minimum inhibitory concentration assays demonstrated high antibacterial potency, with AP41 and SX1 achieving inhibitory activity at low concentrations within the microgram range. In biofilm eradication experiments, AP41, SX1, and SX2 produced dose-dependent reductions in the metabolic activity of established biofilms, indicating efficacy against both planktonic and biofilm-associated cells. Whole-genome analysis of a combined dataset comprising Thai clinical P. aeruginosa genomes retrieved from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Pathogen Detection database, together with genomes from isolates included in this study ( n = 105), revealed that pyocin transporter genes were widely conserved, whereas repertoires of genes encoding pyocins and determinants of cognate immunity to them displayed marked heterogeneity and strong lineage association. Notably, the transporter gene associated with SX1 and SX2 uptake ( crtA ) was conserved across the genome dataset, while no genes conferring cognate immunity against SX1 or SX2 were identified. This suggested that SX1 and SX2 retain activity across a broad range of isolates. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that pyocins exhibit potent antibacterial and antibiofilm activity against MDR and XDR P. aeruginosa , underscoring their potential as candidates for the development of alternative antimicrobial therapies.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{laosena2026evaluation,
  title = {{Evaluation of pyocin activity and pyocin-related gene distribution in multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from Thailand}},
  author = {Phatcharin Laosena and Punthira Suppaiboolkij and Pornpavee Nualnisachol and Daniel Walker and Jiraphan Premsuriya},
  journal = {PeerJ},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.7717/peerj.21850},
  url = {https://peerj.com/articles/21850},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Evaluation of pyocin activity and pyocin-related gene distribution in multidrug- and extensively drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates from Thailand
AU  - Phatcharin Laosena
AU  - Punthira Suppaiboolkij
AU  - Pornpavee Nualnisachol
AU  - Daniel Walker
AU  - Jiraphan Premsuriya
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/21
JO  - PeerJ
DO  - 10.7717/peerj.21850
UR  - https://peerj.com/articles/21850
AB  - Pseudomonas aeruginosa remains a major cause of healthcare-associated infections worldwide, with clinical management increasingly compromised by the emergence and dissemination of multidrug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) lineages. In this study, we evaluated the antibacterial and antibiofilm activity of purified S-type pyocins (AP41, SX1, SX2, G, S5, and M1) against a panel of 29 MDR or XDR clinical P. aeruginosa isolates collected from across Thailand in 2021–2022, integrating phenotypic data with comparative genomic analyses. Susceptibility screening using overlay spot assays identified AP41, SX1, and SX2 as the pyocins with the broadest activity. These pyocins exhibited potent killing activity across MDR and XDR isolates, including strains resistant to last-resort antibiotics such as carbapenems and colistin. Minimum inhibitory concentration assays demonstrated high antibacterial potency, with AP41 and SX1 achieving inhibitory activity at low concentrations within the microgram range. In biofilm eradication experiments, AP41, SX1, and SX2 produced dose-dependent reductions in the metabolic activity of established biofilms, indicating efficacy against both planktonic and biofilm-associated cells. Whole-genome analysis of a combined dataset comprising Thai clinical P. aeruginosa genomes retrieved from the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) Pathogen Detection database, together with genomes from isolates included in this study ( n = 105), revealed that pyocin transporter genes were widely conserved, whereas repertoires of genes encoding pyocins and determinants of cognate immunity to them displayed marked heterogeneity and strong lineage association. Notably, the transporter gene associated with SX1 and SX2 uptake ( crtA ) was conserved across the genome dataset, while no genes conferring cognate immunity against SX1 or SX2 were identified. This suggested that SX1 and SX2 retain activity across a broad range of isolates. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that pyocins exhibit potent antibacterial and antibiofilm activity against MDR and XDR P. aeruginosa , underscoring their potential as candidates for the development of alternative antimicrobial therapies.
SN  - 2167-8359
ER  -