A putative sugar-binding transcriptional regulator in a novel gene locus in Enterococcus faecalis contributes to production of biofilm and prolonged bacteremia in mice.
A biofilm-negative transposon mutant was created from an Enterococcus faecalis strain that produces a lot of biofilm. The transposon had been inserted in the second gene of a locus consisting of 4 open-reading frames, designated bop (biofilm on plastic surfaces). A nonpolar deletion of this gene and of parts of the 2 flanking genes was created; production of biofilm by this deletion mutant was significantly enhanced, compared with that by the wild-type strain. Expression of a downstream gene was significantly lower in the transposon mutant than in the wild-type strain and the biofilm-enhanced deletion mutant. Transformation of this gene into the transposon mutant partially restored production of biofilm. Mice challenged by intravenous injection with the biofilm-negative mutant strain showed significantly reduced numbers of colony-forming units in the blood, compared with mice challenged with the biofilm-enhanced deletion mutant and the wild-type. These results indicate that bop is involved in production of biofilm and probably regulates expression of biofilm in the E. faecalis strain tested.
Hufnagel
Markus
M
Channing Laboratory, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
Koch
Stefanie
S
Creti
Roberta
R
Baldassarri
Lucilla
L
Huebner
Johannes
J
D000818:Animals; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000382:microbiology*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development; D050260:Carbohydrate Metabolism; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D013293:Enterococcus faecalis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D005809:Genes, Regulator; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009154:Mutation; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
D004251:DNA Transposable Elements