A chemosensory system that regulates biofilm formation through modulation of cyclic diguanylate levels

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005 Oct 4;102(40):14422-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0507170102. Epub 2005 Sep 26.

Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes chronic biofilm infections, and its ability to attach to surfaces and other cells is important for biofilm formation and maintenance. Mutations in a gene called wspF, part of a putative chemosensory signal-transduction operon, have been shown to result in cell aggregation and altered colony morphology. The WspF phenotypes depend on the presence of WspR, which is a member of a family of signal transduction proteins known as response regulators. It is likely that the effect of the wspF mutation is to cause constitutive activation of WspR by phosphorylation. WspR contains a GGDEF domain known to catalyze formation of a cytoplasmic signaling molecule cyclic diguanylate (c-diGMP). We determined that purified WspR catalyzed the formation of c-diGMP in vitro and phosphorylation stimulated this activity. We observed increased cellular levels of c-diGMP and increased biofilm formation in a wspF mutant. Expression of a protein predicted to catalyze degradation of c-diGMP reversed the phenotypes of a wspF mutant and inhibited biofilm initiation by wild-type cells, indicating that the presence of c-diGMP is necessary for biofilm formation. A transcriptome analysis showed that expression levels of at least 560 genes were affected by a wspF deletion. The psl and pel operons, which are involved in exopolysaccharide production and biofilm formation, were expressed at high levels in a wspF mutant. Together, the data suggest that the wsp signal transduction pathway regulates biofilm formation through modulation of cyclic diguanylate levels.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Bacterial Proteins / genetics
  • Bacterial Proteins / metabolism*
  • Biofilms / growth & development*
  • Chromatography, Thin Layer
  • Cyclic GMP / analogs & derivatives*
  • Cyclic GMP / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial*
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • Microscopy, Confocal
  • Mutagenesis
  • Mutation / genetics
  • Phosphorylation
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / genetics
  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa / metabolism*
  • Signal Transduction / genetics*

Substances

  • Bacterial Proteins
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins
  • bis(3',5')-cyclic diguanylic acid
  • Cyclic GMP