Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains were isolated from the sputum of a single adult male CF patient, aged 24 at the beginning of sampling. The patient carries the heterozygous CFTR mutations ΔF508 and G542X, and he was treated at the Trentino Regional Support CF Centre and the Operative Unit of Clinical Pathology (Hospital of Rovereto, Italy) (Supplementary Figure S1 and Supplementary Table S1 ).
A total of 40 P. aeruginosa strains were isolated over an 8-year period (2007–2014). To evaluate both the suitability of the material from the lower respiratory tract of the patient (sputum) and the putative pathogens present, a microscopic examination was carried out using Bartlett’s criteria. Sputum samples were fluidized with the addition of dithiothreitol and plated on blood agar and MacConkey agar plates. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was identified using the API ID32GN kit (bioMérieux, Bagno a Ripoli, Italy). Strains from the same sputum samples showing a different colony morphology were collected and characterized separately (Bianconi et al., 2016 (link); D’Arcangelo, 2017 ).
A total of 40 P. aeruginosa strains were isolated over an 8-year period (2007–2014). To evaluate both the suitability of the material from the lower respiratory tract of the patient (sputum) and the putative pathogens present, a microscopic examination was carried out using Bartlett’s criteria. Sputum samples were fluidized with the addition of dithiothreitol and plated on blood agar and MacConkey agar plates. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was identified using the API ID32GN kit (bioMérieux, Bagno a Ripoli, Italy). Strains from the same sputum samples showing a different colony morphology were collected and characterized separately (Bianconi et al., 2016 (link); D’Arcangelo, 2017 ).