title: nagZ Triggers Gonococcal Biofilm Disassembly.
abstract: Bacterial-bacterial interactions play a critical role in promoting biofilm formation. Here we show that NagZ, a protein associated with peptidoglycan recycling, has moonlighting activity that allows it to modulate biofilm accumulation by Neisseria gonorrhoeae. We characterize the biochemical properties of NagZ and demonstrate its ability to function as a dispersing agent for biofilms formed on abiotic surfaces. We extend these observations to cell culture and tissue explant models and show that in nagZ mutants, the biofilms formed in cell culture and on human tissues contain significantly more biomass than those formed by a wild-type strain. Our results demonstrate that an enzyme thought to be restricted to peptidoglycan recycling is able to disperse preformed biofilms.
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Senthil V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Bhoopalan
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piekarowicz
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Madison, WI, 53792, USA.
authors.forename: Jonathan D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Lenz
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, Madison, WI, 53792, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dillard
authors.affiliation: University of Maryland Department of Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics, College Park, MD, 20742, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Stein
mesh_terms: D000118:Acetylglucosaminidase / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018441:Biofilms; D002584:Cervix Uteri / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006069:Gonorrhea / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D009344:Neisseria gonorrhoeae / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D000118:Acetylglucosaminidase