title: CcpA and three newly identified proteins are involved in biofilm development in Lactobacillus plantarum.
abstract: The aim of this study was to identify genes involved in biofilm development in the probiotic lactic acid bacterium Lactobacillus plantarum. The ability of L. plantarum LM3 and of some derivative mutant strains to form biofilm has been investigated. Biofilm microtitre plate assays showed that L. plantarum LM3-2, carrying a null mutation in the ccpA gene, coding the CcpA master regulator, was partially impaired in biofilm production compared to wild type (LM3). Moreover, we found three genes in the L. plantarum genome, hereby named flmA, flmB, and flmC, whose deduced amino acid sequences show significant identity with the Streptococcus mutans BrpA (biofilm regulatory protein A). We investigated the role of FlmA, FlmB, and FlmC in biofilm formation by isolating strains carrying null mutations in the corresponding genes. Our results suggest involvement of the Flm proteins in biofilm development. Moreover, transcriptional studies show that expression of flmA, flmB, and flmC is under the control of CcpA. These results, together with the reduced ability of LM3-2 (ccpA1) to form biofilm, strongly suggest a positive role of the master regulator CcpA in biofilm development.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali, Seconda Università di Napoli, Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Lidia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Muscariello
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Marino
authors.forename: Ugo
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Capri
authors.forename: Valeria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vastano
authors.forename: Rosangela
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marasco
authors.forename: Margherita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sacco
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D001433:Bacteriolysis; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D048191:Lactiplantibacillus plantarum / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D019936:Probiotics; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C069286:catabolite control proteins, bacteria