title: Differential Regulation of c-di-GMP Metabolic Enzymes by Environmental Signals Modulates Biofilm Formation in Yersinia pestis.
abstract: Cyclic diguanylate (c-di-GMP) is essential for Yersinia pestis biofilm formation, which is important for flea-borne blockage-dependent plague transmission. Two diguanylate cyclases (DGCs), HmsT and HmsD and one phosphodiesterase (PDE), HmsP are responsible for the synthesis and degradation of c-di-GMP in Y. pestis. Here, we systematically analyzed the effect of various environmental signals on regulation of the biofilm phenotype, the c-di-GMP levels, and expression of HmsT, HmsD, and HmsP in Y. pestis. Biofilm formation was higher in the presence of non-lethal high concentration of CaCl2, MgCl2, CuSO4, sucrose, sodium dodecyl sulfate, or dithiothreitol, and was lower in the presence of FeCl2 or NaCl. In addition, we found that HmsD plays a major role in biofilm formation in acidic or redox environments. These environmental signals differentially regulated expression of HmsT, HmsP and HmsD, resulting in changes in the intracellular levels of c-di-GMP in Y. pestis. Our results suggest that bacteria can sense various environmental signals, and differentially regulate activity of DGCs and PDEs to coordinately regulate and adapt metabolism of c-di-GMP and biofilm formation to changing environments.
authors.affiliation: MOH Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of Pathogens, Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Gai-Xian
authors.initials: GX
authors.lastname: Ren
authors.affiliation: Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Beijing Centre for Disease Control and Prevention Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Sai
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: MOH Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of Pathogens, Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Peng
authors.initials: XP
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Special Pathogens and Biosafety, Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Shiyun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: MOH Key Laboratory of Systems Biology of Pathogens, Institute of Pathogen Biology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yi-Cheng
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Sun
keywords: Yersinia pestis; biofilm; c-di-GMP; diguanylate cyclases; environmental signals; phosphodiesterase