Providencia stuartii form biofilms and floating communities of cells that display high resistance to environmental insults.
Biofilms are organized communities of bacterial cells that are responsible for the majority of human chronic bacterial infections. Providencia stuartii is a Gram-negative biofilm-forming bacterium involved in high incidence of urinary tract infections in catheterized patients. Yet, the structuration of these biofilms, and their resistance to environmental insults remain poorly understood. Here, we report on planktonic cell growth and biofilm formation by P. stuartii, in conditions that mimic its most common pathophysiological habitat in humans, i.e. the urinary tract. We observed that, in the planktonic state, P. stuartii forms floating communities of cells, prior to attachment to a surface and subsequent adoption of the biofilm phenotype. P. stuartii planktonic and biofilm cells are remarkably resistant to calcium, magnesium and to high concentrations of urea, and show the ability to grow over a wide range of pHs. Experiments conducted on a P. stuartii strain knocked-out for the Omp-Pst2 porin sheds light on the role it plays in the early stages of growth, as well as in the adaptation to high concentration of urea and to varying pH.
Institut de Biologie Structurale, Université Grenoble Alpes - Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Grenoble, France.
Mariam
http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3160-3974
M
El Khatib
School of Biophysics, Jacobs University of Bremen, Bremen, Germany.
Que-Tien
QT
Tran
Institut de Biologie Structurale, Université Grenoble Alpes - Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Grenoble, France.
Chady
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3781-6826
C
Nasrallah
Institut de Biologie Structurale, Université Grenoble Alpes - Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Grenoble, France.
Julie
J
Lopes
Équipe Transporteurs Membranaires, Chimiorésistance et Drug-Design, Université Aix-Marseille - Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Marseille, France.
Jean-Michel
JM
Bolla
Institut de Biologie Structurale, Université Grenoble Alpes - Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Grenoble, France.
Michel
M
Vivaudou
Équipe Transporteurs Membranaires, Chimiorésistance et Drug-Design, Université Aix-Marseille - Institut de Recherche Biomédicale des Armées, Marseille, France.
Jean-Marie
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7092-7977
JM
Pagès
Institut de Biologie Structurale, Université Grenoble Alpes - Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Grenoble, France.
Jacques-Philippe
JP
Colletier
D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D002118:Calcium / Q000494:pharmacology; D004777:Environment; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008274:Magnesium / Q000494:pharmacology; D011532:Providencia / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D014508:Urea / Q000494:pharmacology
D014508:Urea; D008274:Magnesium; D002118:Calcium