Abstract
Most bacteria can form multicellular communities called biofilms on biotic and abiotic surfaces. This multicellular response to surface contact correlates with an increased resistance to various adverse environmental conditions, including those encountered during infections of the human host and exposure to antimicrobial compounds. Biofilm formation occurs when freely swimming (planktonic) cells encounter a surface, which stimulates the chemosensory-like, surface-sensing system Wsp and leads to generation of the intracellular second messenger 3',5'-cyclic-di-guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP). We identified adaptive mutations in a clinical small colony variant (SCV) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and correlated their presence with self-aggregating growth behavior and an enhanced capacity to form biofilms. We present evidence that a point mutation in the 5' untranslated region of the accBC gene cluster, which encodes components of an enzyme responsible for fatty acid biosynthesis, was responsible for a stabilized mRNA structure that resulted in reduced translational efficiency and an increase in the proportion of short-chain fatty acids in the plasma membrane. We propose a model in which these changes in P. aeruginosa serve as a signal for the Wsp system to constitutively produce increased amounts of c-di-GMP and thus play a role in the regulation of adhesion-stimulated bacterial responses.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Science signaling |
Volume | 8 |
Issue number | 372 |
Pages (from-to) | ra36 |
ISSN | 1945-0877 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 14 Apr 2015 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- 5' Untranslated Regions/genetics
- Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase/genetics
- Bacterial Proteins/genetics
- Base Sequence
- Biofilms
- Cell Membrane/metabolism
- Cyclic GMP/analogs & derivatives
- Cytosol/drug effects
- Fatty Acids/metabolism
- Multigene Family/genetics
- Mutation
- Nucleic Acid Conformation
- Phenotype
- Protein Biosynthesis/genetics
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa/genetics
- RNA, Messenger/chemistry
- Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
- Signal Transduction/drug effects
- Sodium Chloride/pharmacology