The polymicrobial nature of airway infections in cystic fibrosis: Cangene Gold Medal LectureThis article is based on a presentation by Dr. Christopher Sibley at the 60th Annual Meeting of the Canadian Society of Microbiologists in Hamilton, Ontario, on 15 June 2010. Dr. Sibley was the recipient of the 2010 Cangene Gold Medal as the Canadian Graduate Student Microbiologist of the Year, an annual award sponsored by Cangene Corporation intended to recognize excellence in graduate research.

Microbial communities characterize the airways of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients. Members of these diverse and dynamic communities can be thought of as pathogens, benign commensals, or synergens — organisms not considered pathogens in the traditional sense but with the capacity to alter the pathogenesis of the community through microbe–microbe or polymicrobe–host interactions. Very few bacterial pathogens have been implicated as clinically relevant in CF; however, the CF airway microbiome can be a reservoir of previously unrecognized but clinically relevant organisms. A combination of culture-dependent and culture-independent approaches provides a more comprehensive perspective of CF microbiology than either approach alone. Here we review these concepts, highlight the future challenges for CF microbiology, and discuss the implications for the management of CF airway infections. We suggest that the success of treatment interventions for chronic CF lung disease will rely on the context of the microbes within microbial communities. The microbiology of CF airways may serve as a model to investigate the emergent properties of other clinically relevant microbial communities in the human body.

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