Polymicrobial infection in cystic fibrosis and future perspectives for improving Mycobacterium abscessus drug discovery

Polymicrobial communities inhabit the cystic fibrosis (CF) airway, whereby microbial interactions can occur. One prominent CF pathogen is Mycobacterium abscessus, whose treatment is largely unsuccessful. This creates a need to discover novel antimicrobial agents to treat M. abscessus, however the methods used within antibiotic discovery are typically monomicrobial. This review will discuss this pathogen whilst considering the CF polymicrobial environment, to highlight future perspectives to improve M. abscessus drug discovery.