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YdgG (TqsA) controls biofilm formation in Escherichia coli K-12 through autoinducer 2 transport.

ABSTRACT: YdgG is an uncharacterized protein that is induced in Escherichia coli biofilms. Here it is shown that deletion of ydgG decreased extracellular and increased intracellular concentrations of autoinducer 2 (AI-2); hence, YdgG enhances transport of AI-2. Consistent with this hypothesis, deletion of ydgG resulted in a 7,000-fold increase in biofilm thickness and 574-fold increase in biomass in flow cells. Also consistent with the hypothesis, deletion of ydgG increased cell motility by increasing transcription of flagellar genes (genes induced by AI-2). By expressing ydgG in trans, the wild-type phenotypes for extracellular AI-2 activity, motility, and biofilm formation were restored. YdgG is also predicted to be a membrane-spanning protein that is conserved in many bacteria, and it influences resistance to several antimicrobials, including crystal violet and streptomycin (this phenotype could also be complemented). Deletion of ydgG also caused 31% of the bacterial chromosome to be differentially expressed in biofilms, as expected, since AI-2 controls hundreds of genes. YdgG was found to negatively modulate expression of flagellum- and motility-related genes, as well as other known products essential for biofilm formation, including operons for type 1 fimbriae, autotransporter protein Ag43, curli production, colanic acid production, and production of polysaccharide adhesin. Eighty genes not previously related to biofilm formation were also identified, including those that encode transport proteins (yihN and yihP), polysialic acid production (gutM and gutQ), CP4-57 prophage functions (yfjR and alpA), methionine biosynthesis (metR), biotin and thiamine biosynthesis (bioF and thiDFH), anaerobic metabolism (focB, hyfACDR, ttdA, and fumB), and proteins with unknown function (ybfG, yceO, yjhQ, and yjbE); 10 of these genes were verified through mutation to decrease biofilm formation by 40% or more (yfjR, bioF, yccW, yjbE, yceO, ttdA, fumB, yjiP, gutQ, and yihR). Hence, it appears YdgG controls the transport of the quorum-sensing signal AI-2, and so we suggest the gene name tqsA.

SUBMITTER: Herzberg M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1347309 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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YdgG (TqsA) controls biofilm formation in Escherichia coli K-12 through autoinducer 2 transport.

Herzberg Moshe M Kaye Ian K IK Peti Wolfgang W Wood Thomas K TK

Journal of bacteriology 20060101 2

YdgG is an uncharacterized protein that is induced in Escherichia coli biofilms. Here it is shown that deletion of ydgG decreased extracellular and increased intracellular concentrations of autoinducer 2 (AI-2); hence, YdgG enhances transport of AI-2. Consistent with this hypothesis, deletion of ydgG resulted in a 7,000-fold increase in biofilm thickness and 574-fold increase in biomass in flow cells. Also consistent with the hypothesis, deletion of ydgG increased cell motility by increasing tra ...[more]

PMID: 16385049

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Project description:Biofilms in nature typically consist of multiple species, and microbial interactions are likely to have crucial effects on biofilm development, structure, and functions. The best-understood form of communication within bacterial communities involves the production, release, and detection of signal molecules (autoinducers), known as quorum sensing. Although autoinducers mainly promote intraspecies communication, autoinducer 2 (AI-2) is produced and detected by a variety of bacteria, thus principally allowing interspecies communication. Here we show the importance of AI-2-mediated signaling in the formation of mixed biofilms by Enterococcus faecalis and Escherichia coli Our results demonstrate that AI-2 produced by E. faecalis promotes collective behaviors of E. coli at lower cell densities, enhancing autoaggregation of E. coli but also leading to chemotaxis-dependent coaggregation between the two species. Finally, we show that formation of such mixed dual-species biofilms increases the stress resistance of both E. coli and E. faecalis IMPORTANCE The role of interspecies communication in the development of mixed microbial communities is becoming increasingly apparent, but specific examples of such communication remain limited. The universal signal molecule AI-2 is well known to regulate cell-density-dependent phenotypes of many bacterial species but, despite its potential for interspecies communication, the role of AI-2 in the establishment of multispecies communities is not well understood. In this study, we explore AI-2 signaling in a dual-species community containing two bacterial species that naturally cooccur in their mammalian hosts, i.e., Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis We show that active production of AI-2 by E. faecalis allows E. coli to perform collective behaviors at low cell densities. Additionally, AI-2- and chemotaxis-dependent coaggregation with E. faecalis creates nucleation zones for rapid growth of E. coli microcolonies in mixed biofilms and enhances the stress resistance of both species.

Project description:Honey has been widely used against bacterial infection for centuries. Previous studies suggested that honeys in high concentrations inhibited bacterial growth due to the presence of anti-microbial compounds, such as methylglyoxal, hydrogen peroxide, and peptides. In this study, we found that three honeys (acacia, clover, and polyfloral) in a low concentration as below as 0.5% (v/v) significantly suppress virulence and biofilm formation in enterohemorrhagic E. coli O157:H7 affecting the growth of planktonic cells while these honeys do not harm commensal E. coli K-12 biofilm formation. Transcriptome analyses show that honeys (0.5%) markedly repress quorum sensing genes (e.g., AI-2 import and indole biosynthesis), virulence genes (e.g., LEE genes), and curli genes (csgBAC). We found that glucose and fructose in honeys are key compounds to reduce the biofilm formation of E. coli O157:H7 via suppressing curli production, but not that of E. coli K-12. Additionally, we observed the temperature-dependent response of honeys and glucose on commensal E. coli K-12 biofilm formation; honey and glucose increase E. coli K-12 biofilm formation at 37Â°C, while they decrease E. coli K-12 biofilm formation at 26Â°C. These results suggest that honey can be a practical tool for reducing virulence and colonization of the pathogenic E. coli O157:H7, while honeys do not harm commensal E. coli community in the human. For the microarray experiments, E. coli O157:H7 EDL933 was inoculated in 250 ml of LB in 1000 ml flasks with overnight cultures that were diluted at 1:100. Cells were shaken with 10g of glass wool at 100 rpm and 37Â°C for 7 hrs. Cells were immediately chilled with dry ice and 95% ethanol (to prevent RNA degradation) for 30 sec before centrifugation in 50 ml centrifuge tubes at 13,000 g for 2 min; cell pellets were frozen immediately with dry ice and stored -80Â°C. RNA was isolated using Qiagen RNeasy mini Kit (Valencia, CA, USA). To eliminate DNA contamination, Qiagen RNase-free DNase I was used to digest DNA. RNA quality was assessed by Agilent 2100 bioanalyser using the RNA 6000 Nano Chip (Agilent Technologies, Amstelveen, The Netherlands), and quantity was determined by ND-1000 Spectrophotometer (NanoDrop Technologies, Inc., DE, USA).

Dataset Information

YdgG (TqsA) controls biofilm formation in Escherichia coli K-12 through autoinducer 2 transport.

Publications

YdgG (TqsA) controls biofilm formation in Escherichia coli K-12 through autoinducer 2 transport.

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