Temporal profiling of the bacterial and fungal communities in ΔF508 adult cysticfibrosis sputum

Aims: The purpose of this study was to analyse the bacterial and fungal turnover in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients who were ΔF508 homo- and hetero-zygotes. Further to this we wanted to identify the effects that Intravenous (IV) antibiotic perturbations had on the community and most importantly, whether exacerbations in these patients could be attributed to microbial species or communities. Methods: A total of 149 samples were collected from 18 adult CF patients attending a clinic at the RVI hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne. The samples were subject to DNA extraction followed by bacterial and fungal community DGGE analysis as well as qPCR analysis of the bacterial load. Results: We have found that bacterial and fungal communities present in the CF lung are not different when patients are suffering an exacerbation. Further to this, we have found that bacterial communities in the CF lung are disturbed by IV antibiotic administration and cause increased species turnover. We have shown that fungal taxa are capable of chronically colonising the CF lung. Conclusions: Our study adds further evidence to the assertion that changes in bacterial communities are not the cause of CF exacerbations. However, we were able to demonstrate that acquisition of new bacterial taxa was strongly associated with exacerbations in one patient. This study is the first to illustrate that fungi can persist in the CF lung but are not associated with clinical status.