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Media type:
E-Article
Title:
Enhanced Biofilm Formation and Loss of Capsule Synthesis: Deletion of a Putative Glycosyltransferase inPorphyromonas gingivalis
Contributor:
Davey, Mary E.;
Duncan, Margaret J.
Published:
American Society for Microbiology, 2006
Published in:
Journal of Bacteriology, 188 (2006) 15, Seite 5510-5523
Language:
English
DOI:
10.1128/jb.01685-05
ISSN:
0021-9193;
1098-5530
Origination:
Footnote:
Description:
ABSTRACTPeriodontitis is a biofilm-mediated disease.Porphyromonas gingivalisis an obligate anaerobe consistently associated with severe manifestations of this disease. As an opportunistic pathogen, the ability to proliferate within and disseminate from subgingival biofilm (plaque) is central to its virulence. Here, we report the isolation of aP. gingivalistransposon insertion mutant altered in biofilm development and the reconstruction and characterization of this mutation in three different wild-type strains. The mutation responsible for the altered biofilm phenotype was in a gene with high sequence similarity (∼61%) to a glycosyltransferase gene. The gene is located in a region of the chromosome that includes up to 16 genes predicted to be involved in the synthesis and transport of capsular polysaccharide. The phenotype of the reconstructed mutation in all three wild-type backgrounds is that of enhanced biofilm formation. In addition, in strain W83, a strain that is encapsulated, the glycosyltransferase mutation resulted in a loss of capsule. Further experiments showed that the W83 mutant strain was more hydrophobic and exhibited increased autoaggregation. Our results indicate that we have identified a gene involved in capsular-polysaccharide synthesis inP. gingivalisand that the production of capsule prevented attachment and the initiation of in vitro biofilm formation on polystyrene microtiter plates.