1. BcsQ is an essential component of theEscherichia colicellulose biosynthesis apparatus that localizes at the bacterial cell pole
- Author
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Benjamin Le Quéré, Jean-Marc Ghigo, Génétique des Biofilms, Institut Pasteur [Paris]-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), B.L.Q. is supported by a MESR fellowship. J.‐M.G. is supported by grants from the Institut Pasteur, the CNRS, the Network of Excellence EuroPathoGenomics (LSHB‐CT‐2005‐512061) and the Fondation BNP PARIBAS., We are grateful to Brigitte Arbeille, Claude Lebos and Gérard Prensier (LBCME, Faculte de Medecine de Tours) for their help in performing electronic microscopy and three‐dimensional reconstructions. We thank David Weiss, Paul Knox and Cecile Hervé for, respectively, providing GFP fusion plasmids and CBM. We also thank Ariel B. Lindner for the gift of the pibpA–rfp construct and J.‐M. Betton for MalE and MalE‐31 plasmids. We thank C. Beloin, S. Bernier, S. Da Re, I. Lasa and N. Buddelmeijer for critical reading of the manuscript., European Project: 512061,Network of Excellence EuroPathoGenomics, and Institut Pasteur [Paris] (IP)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
Recombinant Fusion Proteins ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,Molecular Sequence Data ,medicine.disease_cause ,Microbiology ,Bacterial cell structure ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Escherichia ,Operon ,Escherichia coli ,medicine ,Amino Acid Sequence ,Cellulose ,Molecular Biology ,030304 developmental biology ,0303 health sciences ,biology ,030306 microbiology ,Escherichia coli Proteins ,Biofilm ,Biofilm matrix ,Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial ,biology.organism_classification ,Enterobacteriaceae ,[SDV.MP]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Microbiology and Parasitology ,chemistry ,Biochemistry ,Bacterial cellulose ,Biofilms - Abstract
International audience; Biofilms are microbial communities characterized by three-dimensional growth resulting from the ability of individual cells to adhere to each other as well as to produce an extracellular matrix that ensures biofilm physical cohesion. Numerous bacteria produce cellulose as a biofilm matrix polymer, a property relying on the expression of bacterial cellulose synthesis (Bcs) proteins and their post-translational activation upon binding of cyclic di-guanosine mono-phosphate second messenger (c-di-GMP) produced by diguanylate cyclases. In Escherichia coli and other Enterobacteriaceae, two genes of unknown function, yhjR and yhjQ, are located upstream of the bcs genes. Here, we show that yhjQ, but not yhjR, is essential for cellulose biosynthesis; it has therefore been renamed bcsQ. Using a green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion approach, we demonstrate that BcsQ, a MinD homologue, displays a polar localization and that cell-to-cell adhesion is initiated through production of cellulose at the BcsQ-labelled pole. Although we did not detect a similar localization for other Bcs proteins, immunogold labelling of cellulose itself at the pole of individual bacteria indicates the localized activity of the cellulose biosynthesis apparatus. These results therefore suggest that BcsQ could participate in spatial restriction of cellulose biosynthesis activity in Enterobacteriaceae.
- Published
- 2009