title: The Pseudomonas aeruginosa chemotaxis methyltransferase CheR1 impacts on bacterial surface sampling.
abstract: The characterization of factors contributing to the formation and development of surface-associated bacterial communities known as biofilms has become an area of intense interest since biofilms have a major impact on human health, the environment and industry. Various studies have demonstrated that motility, including swimming, swarming and twitching, seems to play an important role in the surface colonization and establishment of structured biofilms. Thereby, the impact of chemotaxis on biofilm formation has been less intensively studied. Pseudomonas aeruginosa has a very complex chemosensory system with two Che systems implicated in flagella-mediated motility. In this study, we demonstrate that the chemotaxis protein CheR1 is a methyltransferase that binds S-adenosylmethionine and transfers a methyl group from this methyl donor to the chemoreceptor PctA, an activity which can be stimulated by the attractant serine but not by glutamine. We furthermore demonstrate that CheR1 does not only play a role in flagella-mediated chemotaxis but that its activity is essential for the formation and maintenance of bacterial biofilm structures. We propose a model in which motility and chemotaxis impact on initial attachment processes, dispersion and reattachment and increase the efficiency and frequency of surface sampling in P. aeruginosa.
authors: Department of Cell Biology, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany.
authors: Juliane
authors: J
authors: Schmidt
authors: Mathias
authors: M
authors: Müsken
authors: Tanja
authors: T
authors: Becker
authors: Zofia
authors: Z
authors: Magnowska
authors: Daniela
authors: D
authors: Bertinetti
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Möller
authors: Bastian
authors: B
authors: Zimmermann
authors: Friedrich W
authors: FW
authors: Herberg
authors: Lothar
authors: L
authors: Jänsch
authors: Susanne
authors: S
authors: Häussler
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms; D002633:Chemotaxis; D008780:Methyltransferases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009154:Mutation; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D008780:Methyltransferases