title: Salicylate increases the expression of marA and reduces in vitro biofilm formation in uropathogenic Escherichia coli by decreasing type 1 fimbriae expression.
abstract: Escherichia coli is one of the most frequent bacteria implicated in biofilm formation, which is a dynamic process whose first step consists in bacteria adhesion to surfaces through type 1 fimbriae. Salicylate induces a number of morphological and physiological alterations in bacteria including the activation of the transcriptional regulator MarA. In this report the effects of salicylate on biofilm formation and their relationship with MarA were studied. An inverse relationship was observed between in vitro biofilm formation and salicylate concentration added to the culture medium. Salicylate increases the expression of marA and decreases the expression of fimA and fimB genes in the wild-type strain. In addition, the fimA and fimB expression was decreased in a MarR mutant in which marA was also overexpressed. In conclusion, the expression of type 1 fimbriae in presence of salicylate may be regulated by the level of marA expression through fimB regulator, albeit through neither the ompX nor the tolC genes.
authors.affiliation: Barcelona Centre for International Health Research, CRESIB, Hospital Clinic-University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vila
authors.forename: Sara M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Soto
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000378:metabolism*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D019426:Integrases / Q000096:biosynthesis; D012459:Salicylates / Q000378:metabolism*; D015533:Transcriptional Activation / Q000187:drug effects; D056689:Uropathogenic Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; C080002:MarA protein, E coli; D012459:Salicylates; C081956:fimB protein, E coli; C063055:fimbrillin; D036781:Fimbriae Proteins; D019426:Integrases