[SCAN] A biofilm regulatory protein is involved in spore coat assembly in Bacillus subtilis

SCAN

Title: A biofilm regulatory protein is involved in spore coat assembly in Bacillus subtilis

Speaker: Mónica Serrano, ITQB NOVA

Affiliation: Adriano Henriques Lab

Abstract:

Biofilms are structured communities of microbial cells living adherent to a surface and encased in an extracellular self produced matrix. Biofilms form everywhere, and in general, have significantly higher resistance to antibiotics and to environmental stresses (including the host immune system) than their planktonic counterparts, and have a great impact in clinical, industrial, and natural settings. In the case of the spore-formers bacteria we are faced with an antibiotic- and immune system-resistant biofilm that is able to disperse in the form of highly resistant spores. Undomesticated strains of Bacillus subtilis proved to be a remarkable model system to study biofilms. In this work we examined the link between bacterial biofilms and sporulation in B. subtilis. The product of the remA gene activates transcription of genes coding for components of the matrix of biofilms, including TasA and BslA. remA is also part of a genomic signature for sporulation and we now show that remA is expressed in the forespore soon after asymmetric division and in the mother cell following engulfment completion. We show that TasA and BslA are found on the coat of wild type endospores produced during biofilm development. Thus, components of the biofilm matrix are part of the coat of mature endospores. We hypothesize that structural proteins that confer integrity to the biofilm matrix, also have a role in the assembly of the spore coat, particularly during biofilm development.