title: Diverse pathogenicity of Burkholderia cepacia complex strains in the Caenorhabditis elegans host model.
abstract: A fast screening method was developed to assess the pathogenicity of a diverse collection of environmental and clinical Burkholderia cepacia complex isolates in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. The method was validated by comparison with the standard slow-killing assay. We observed that the pathogenicity of B. cepacia complex isolates in C. elegans was strain-dependent but species-independent. The wide range of observed pathogenic phenotypes agrees with the high degree of phenotypic variation among species of the B. cepacia complex and suggests that the taxonomic classification of a given strain within the complex cannot predict pathogenicity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Infectious Diseases Research Group, Siebens-Drake Research Institute, Dental Sciences Building, Room 3014, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ont., Canada N6A 5C1. scardona@uwo.ca
authors.forename: Silvia T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Cardona
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wopperer
authors.forename: Leo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Eberl
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Valvano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001431:Bacteriological Techniques; D042602:Burkholderia cepacia complex / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000382:microbiology*; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D006801:Humans; D023421:Models, Animal; D009154:Mutation; D010641:Phenotype; D013045:Species Specificity; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004269:DNA, Bacterial