Host- and microbial-mediated mucin degradation differentially shape Pseudomonas aeruginosa physiology and gene expression

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a hallmark pathogen of cystic fibrosis (CF) airway infections, capable of reaching high cell densities despite its limited ability to directly utilize mucin glycoproteins as a nutrient source. In the CF lung, however, P. aeruginosa may access preferred carbon sources (e.g., amino acids and short-chain fatty acids) through metabolic cross-feeding with co-colonizing mucin-degrading microbes. Although host-derived enzymes such as neutrophil elastase can also degrade mucins, the extent to which host-mediated mucin breakdown supports P. aeruginosa growth remains unclear. Thus, here we compared the nutritional impact of microbial versus host mucolytic activity on P. aeruginosa physiology. Analyses of CF sputum revealed patient-specific variability in mucin integrity that is shaped by both host and microbial factors. We demonstrate that mucin degradation by anaerobic bacteria through proteolysis, glycolysis, and fermentation, promotes robust P. aeruginosa growth, unlike mucin processed by neutrophil elastase alone. Targeted metabolomics identified acetate and propionate as key metabolites driving this cross-feeding, while transcriptomic and phenotypic analyses revealed that P. aeruginosa engages in diauxic growth on a broader set of mucin-derived substrates. Unexpectedly, cross-feeding with anaerobes triggered the induction of P. aeruginosa denitrification and fermentation pathways, suggesting redox remodeling despite being cultured under oxygen-replete conditions. Finally, the transcriptional profile of P. aeruginosa grown on anaerobe-conditioned mucins more closely resembled its in vivo gene expression, more so than when grown on intact or neutrophil-degraded mucins. Together, these findings provide new insight into the potential role of interspecies metabolic interactions in shaping pathogen physiology in the inflammatory, polymicrobial, and mucus-rich environment of the CF airways.