Transfer RNA (tRNA) modifications impact the structure and function of tRNAs thus affecting the efficiency and fidelity of translation. In the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa translational regulation plays an important but less defined role in the adaptation to changing environments. In this study, we explored tRNA modifications in P. aeruginosa using LC-MS/MS based approaches. Neutral Loss Scan (NLS) demonstrated the potential to identify previously unknown modifications, while Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) can detect modifications with high specificity and sensitivity. In this study, the MRM-based external calibration method allowed for quantification of the 4 canonical and 32 modified ribonucleosides, of which 21 tRNA modifications were quantified in the total tRNA pool of P. aeruginosa PA14. We also purified the single tRNA isoacceptors tRNA-ArgUCU, tRNA-LeuCAA and tRNA-TrpCCA and determined, both qualitatively and quantitatively, their specific modification pattern. Deeper insights into the nature and dynamics of tRNA modifications in P. aeruginosa will pave the way for further studies on posttranscriptional gene regulation as a relatively unexplored molecular mechanism of controlling bacterial pathogenicity and life style.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic multidrug-resistant pathogen, able to grow in biofilms. It causes life-threatening complications in diseases characterized by the up-regulation of type I interferon (IFN) signaling, such as cancer or viral infections. Since type I IFNs regulate multiple functions of neutrophils, which constitute the first line of anti-bacterial host defense, in this work we aimed to study how interferon-activated neutrophils influence the course of P. aeruginosa infection of the lung. In lungs of infected IFN-sufficient WT mice, significantly elevated bacteria load was observed, accompanied by the prominent lung tissue damage. At the same time IFN-deficient animals seem to be partly resistant to the infection. Lung neutrophils from such IFN-deficient animals release significantly lower amounts of neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), as compared to WT neutrophils. Of note, such IFN-deficient neutrophils show significantly decreased capacity to stimulate biofilm formation by P. aeruginosa. Reduced biofilm production impairs in turn the survival of bacteria in a lung tissue. In line with that, treatment of neutrophils with recombinant IFN-β enhances their NETosis and stimulates biofilm formation by Pseudomonas after co-incubation with such neutrophils. Possibly, bacteria utilizes neutrophil-derived NETs as a scaffold for released biofilms. In agreement with this, in vivo treatment with ROS-scavengers, NETs disruption or usage of the bacterial strains unable to bind DNA, suppress neutrophil-mediated biofilm formation in the lungs. Together, our findings indicate that the excessive activation of neutrophils by type I IFNs leads to their boosted NETosis that in turn triggers biofilm formation by P. aeruginosa and supports its persistence in the infected lung. Targeting these mechanisms could offer a new therapeutic approach to prevent persistent bacterial infections in patients with diseases associated with the up-regulation of type I IFNs.