title: Impact of Mycobacterium ulcerans biofilm on transmissibility to ecological niches and Buruli ulcer pathogenesis.
abstract: The role of biofilms in the pathogenesis of mycobacterial diseases remains largely unknown. Mycobacterium ulcerans, the etiological agent of Buruli ulcer, a disfiguring disease in humans, adopts a biofilm-like structure in vitro and in vivo, displaying an abundant extracellular matrix (ECM) that harbors vesicles. The composition and structure of the ECM differs from that of the classical matrix found in other bacterial biofilms. More than 80 proteins are present within this extracellular compartment and appear to be involved in stress responses, respiration, and intermediary metabolism. In addition to a large amount of carbohydrates and lipids, ECM is the reservoir of the polyketide toxin mycolactone, the sole virulence factor of M. ulcerans identified to date, and purified vesicles extracted from ECM are highly cytotoxic. ECM confers to the mycobacterium increased resistance to antimicrobial agents, and enhances colonization of insect vectors and mammalian hosts. The results of this study support a model whereby biofilm changes confer selective advantages to M. ulcerans in colonizing various ecological niches successfully, with repercussions for Buruli ulcer pathogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Unité de Génétique Moléculaire Bactérienne, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France. laurentmarsollier@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marsollier
authors.forename: Priscille
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brodin
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jackson
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Korduláková
authors.forename: Petra
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tafelmeyer
authors.forename: Etienne
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carbonnelle
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Aubry
authors.forename: Geneviève
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Milon
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Legras
authors.forename: Jean-Paul Saint
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: André
authors.forename: Céline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Leroy
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cottin
authors.forename: Marie Laure Joly
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Guillou
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reysset
authors.forename: Stewart T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Cole
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D018441:Biofilms; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000032:analysis; D004463:Ecology; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000737:chemistry; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis; D018942:Macrolides; D051379:Mice; D009165:Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / Q000635:transmission*; D019911:Mycobacterium ulcerans / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012883:Skin Ulcer / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D037521:Virulence Factors
chemical_list: D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D002241:Carbohydrates; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D008055:Lipids; D018942:Macrolides; D037521:Virulence Factors; C117218:mycolactone