Staphylococcus aureus CcpA affects biofilm formation.
Biofilm formation in Staphylococcus aureus under in vitro growth conditions is generally promoted by high concentrations of sugar and/or salts. The addition of glucose to routinely used complex growth media triggered biofilm formation in S. aureus strain SA113. Deletion of ccpA, coding for the catabolite control protein A (CcpA), which regulates gene expression in response to the carbon source, abolished the capacity of SA113 to form a biofilm under static and flow conditions, while still allowing primary attachment to polystyrene surfaces. This suggested that CcpA mainly affects biofilm accumulation and intercellular aggregation. trans-Complementation of the mutant with the wild-type ccpA allele fully restored the biofilm formation. The biofilm produced by SA113 was susceptible to sodium metaperiodate, DNase I, and proteinase K treatment, indicating the presence of polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA), protein factors, and extracellular DNA (eDNA). The investigation of several factors which were reported to influence biofilm formation in S. aureus (arlRS, mgrA, rbf, sarA, atl, ica, citZ, citB, and cidABC) showed that CcpA up-regulated the transcription of cidA, which was recently shown to contribute to eDNA production. Moreover, we showed that CcpA increased icaA expression and PIA production, presumably over the down-regulation of the tricarboxylic acid cycle genes citB and citZ.
Seidl
Kati
K
Institute of Medical Microbiology, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
Goerke
Christiane
C
Wolz
Christiane
C
Mack
Dietrich
D
Berger-Bächi
Brigitte
B
Bischoff
Markus
M
D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D003850:Deoxyribonuclease I / Q000378:metabolism; D019286:Endopeptidase K / Q000378:metabolism; D017353:Gene Deletion; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005816:Genetic Complementation Test; D010504:Periodic Acid / Q000378:metabolism; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000378:metabolism; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C069286:catabolite control proteins, bacteria; D010504:Periodic Acid; C009288:metaperiodate; D003850:Deoxyribonuclease I; D019286:Endopeptidase K