Toxin-antitoxin systems have been identified in most bacteria and archaea
that preservation of bacterial or archaeal population is their ultimate goal. Indeed, they
are regulatory systems, which play an important role in bacterial pathogenesis as well
as regular physiological processes. Although they have been assigned many vital roles
(antibiotic resistance, biofilm formation, persister cell formation, plasmid maintenance,
post segregational killing), their role in each bacterial species is unique. Among
bacterial pathogens, P. aeruginosa is of great importance due to its high pathogenicity.
Here, we described the most known toxin-antitoxin systems and their roles in the
pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa. Although bioinformatics studies have presented a large
number of them, we have described those TA systems that have been confirmed by
molecular tests. Acquaintance to TA systems and their role in P. aeruginosa will help
to find novel ways of treatment.
Keywords: HicAB, HigBA, ParDE, RelBE.
