Matrix Production, Pigment Synthesis, and Sporulation in a Marine Isolated Strain of Bacillus pumilus.
The ability to produce an extracellular matrix and form multicellular communities is an adaptive behavior shared by many bacteria. In Bacillus subtilis, the model system for spore-forming bacteria, matrix production is one of the possible differentiation pathways that a cell can follow when vegetative growth is no longer feasible. While in B. subtilis the genetic system controlling matrix production has been studied in detail, it is still unclear whether other spore formers utilize similar mechanisms. We report that SF214, a pigmented strain of Bacillus pumilus isolated from the marine environment, can produce an extracellular matrix relying on orthologs of many of the genes known to be important for matrix synthesis in B. subtilis. We also report a characterization of the carbohydrates forming the extracellular matrix of strain SF214. The isolation and characterization of mutants altered in matrix synthesis, pigmentation, and spore formation suggest that in strain SF214 the three processes are strictly interconnected and regulated by a common molecular mechanism.
Department of Biology, Federico II University, MSA, via Cinthia 21, 80126 Naples, Italy. blanda.diluccia@unina.it.
Blanda
B
Di Luccia
Department of Biology, Federico II University, MSA, via Cinthia 21, 80126 Naples, Italy. antonio.riccio.91@gmail.com.
Antonio
A
Riccio
Department of Chemistry, Federico II University, MSA, via Cinthia 21, 80126 Naples, Italy. eleda-86@libero.it.
Adele
A
Vanacore
Department of Biology, Federico II University, MSA, via Cinthia 21, 80126 Naples, Italy. lorbacci@unina.it.
Loredana
L
Baccigalupi
Department of Chemistry, Federico II University, MSA, via Cinthia 21, 80126 Naples, Italy. molinaro@unina.it.
Antonio
A
Molinaro
Department of Biology, Federico II University, MSA, via Cinthia 21, 80126 Naples, Italy. ericca@unina.it.
Ezio
E
Ricca
D001407:Bacillus / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000737:chemistry; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D010860:Pigments, Biological / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*
D002241:Carbohydrates; D010860:Pigments, Biological
SF214; exopolysaccharide; microbial differentiation