Dataset Information

Bacillus subtilis biofilm development in the presence of soil clay minerals and iron oxides.

ABSTRACT: Clay minerals and metal oxides, as important parts of the soil matrix, play crucial roles in the development of microbial communities. However, the mechanism underlying such a process, particularly on the formation of soil biofilm, remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effects of montmorillonite, kaolinite, and goethite on the biofilm formation of the representative soil bacteria Bacillus subtilis. The bacterial biofilm formation in goethite was found to be impaired in the initial 24?h but burst at 48?h in the liquid-air interface. Confocal laser scanning microscopy showed that the biofilm biomass in goethite was 3-16 times that of the control, montmorillonite, and kaolinite at 48?h. Live/Dead staining showed that cells had the highest death rate of 60% after 4?h of contact with goethite, followed by kaolinite and montmorillonite. Atomic force microscopy showed that the interaction between goethite and bacteria may injure bacterial cells by puncturing cell wall, leading to the swarming of bacteria toward the liquid-air interface. Additionally, the expressions of abrB and sinR, key players in regulating the biofilm formation, were upregulated at 24?h and downregulated at 48?h in goethite, indicating the initial adaptation of the cells to minerals. A model was proposed to describe the effects of goethite on the biofilm formation. Our findings may facilitate a better understanding of the roles of soil clays in biofilm development and the manipulation of bacterial compositions through controlling the biofilm in soils.

SUBMITTER: Ma W

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5445608 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

<i>Bacillus subtilis</i> biofilm development in the presence of soil clay minerals and iron oxides.

Ma Wenting W Peng Donghai D Walker Sharon L SL Cao Bin B Gao Chun-Hui CH Huang Qiaoyun Q Cai Peng P

NPJ biofilms and microbiomes 20170209

Clay minerals and metal oxides, as important parts of the soil matrix, play crucial roles in the development of microbial communities. However, the mechanism underlying such a process, particularly on the formation of soil biofilm, remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effects of montmorillonite, kaolinite, and goethite on the biofilm formation of the representative soil bacteria <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>. The bacterial biofilm formation in goethite was found to be impaired in the ...[more]

PMID: 28649405

Similar Datasets

Project description:Biofilms are structured communities of tightly associated cells that constitute thepredominant state of bacterial growth in naturaland human-madeenvironments. Although the core genetic circuitry that controls biofilm formation in model bacteria such as Bacillus subtilishas been well characterized, little is known about the role that metabolism plays in this complex developmental process. Here, weperformed a time-resolved analysisof the metabolic changes associated with pellicle biofilm formation and development inB. subtilisby combining metabolomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic analyses. We report a surprisingly widespread and dynamic remodeling of metabolism affecting central carbon metabolism, primary biosynthetic pathways, fermentation pathways, and secondary metabolism. Most of these metabolic alterations were hithertounrecognized as biofilm-associated.For example, we observed increased activity of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle during early biofilm growth, a shift from fatty acid biosynthesis to fatty acid degradation, reorganization of iron metabolism and transport, and a switch from acetate to acetoin fermentation. Close agreement between metabolomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic measurements indicated that remodeling of metabolism during biofilm development was generally controlled at the transcriptional level. Our resultsalsoprovide insights into the transcription factors and regulatory networks involved in thiscomplexmetabolic remodeling. Following upon these results, we demonstrate that acetoin production via acetolactate synthase is essential for robust biofilm growthand has the dual role of conservingredox balance and maintaining extracellularpH.This study represents a comprehensive systems-level investigation of the metabolic remodeling occurring during B. subtilisbiofilm development that will serve as a useful roadmap for future studies on biofilm physiology.

Dataset Information

Bacillus subtilis biofilm development in the presence of soil clay minerals and iron oxides.

Publications

<i>Bacillus subtilis</i> biofilm development in the presence of soil clay minerals and iron oxides.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure