Asymmetry and inequity in the inheritance of a bacterial adhesive
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic human pathogen that forms biofilm infections in a wide variety of contexts. Biofilms initiate when bacteria attach to a surface, which triggers changes in gene expression leading to the biofilm phenotype. We have previously shown, for the P . aeruginosa lab...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IOP Publishing
2016-01-01
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| Series: | New Journal of Physics |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/18/4/045019 |
| _version_ | 1827873663706202112 |
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| author | Benjamin J Cooley Sheri Dellos-Nolan Numa Dhamani Ross Todd William Waller Daniel Wozniak Vernita D Gordon |
| author_facet | Benjamin J Cooley Sheri Dellos-Nolan Numa Dhamani Ross Todd William Waller Daniel Wozniak Vernita D Gordon |
| author_sort | Benjamin J Cooley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic human pathogen that forms biofilm infections in a wide variety of contexts. Biofilms initiate when bacteria attach to a surface, which triggers changes in gene expression leading to the biofilm phenotype. We have previously shown, for the P . aeruginosa lab strain PAO1, that the self-produced polymer Psl is the most dominant adhesive for attachment to the surface but that another self-produced polymer, Pel, controls the geometry of attachment of these rod-shaped bacteria—strains that make Psl but not Pel are permanently attached to the surface but adhere at only one end (tilting up off the surface), whereas wild-type bacteria that make both Psl and Pel are permanently attached and lie down flat with very little or no tilting (Cooley et al 2013 Soft Matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c3sm27638d 9 http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c3sm27638d ). Here we show that the change in attachment geometry reflects a change in the distribution of Psl on the bacterial cell surface. Bacteria that make Psl and Pel have Psl evenly coating the surface, whereas bacteria that make only Psl have Psl concentrated at only one end. We show that Psl can act as an inheritable, epigenetic factor. Rod-shaped P. aeruginosa grows lengthwise and divides across the middle. We find that asymmetry in the distribution of Psl on a parent cell is reflected in asymmetry between siblings in their attachment to the surface. Thus, Pel not only promotes P. aeruginosa lying down flat on the surface, it also helps to homogenize the distribution of Psl within a bacterial population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:40:20Z |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1367-2630 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T16:40:20Z |
| publishDate | 2016-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | New Journal of Physics |
| spelling | doaj.art-3fbfd21e91ee4a19ac5882c780bf39432023-08-08T14:31:28ZengIOP PublishingNew Journal of Physics1367-26302016-01-0118404501910.1088/1367-2630/18/4/045019Asymmetry and inequity in the inheritance of a bacterial adhesiveBenjamin J Cooley0Sheri Dellos-Nolan1Numa Dhamani2Ross Todd3William Waller4Daniel Wozniak5Vernita D Gordon6Center for Nonlinear Dynamics and Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas, USADepartment of Microbiology, The Ohio State University , Columbus, Ohio, USACenter for Nonlinear Dynamics and Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas, USACenter for Nonlinear Dynamics and Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas, USACenter for Nonlinear Dynamics and Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas, USACenter for Nonlinear Dynamics and Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas, USACenter for Nonlinear Dynamics and Department of Physics, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas, USA; Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin , Austin, Texas, USAPseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic human pathogen that forms biofilm infections in a wide variety of contexts. Biofilms initiate when bacteria attach to a surface, which triggers changes in gene expression leading to the biofilm phenotype. We have previously shown, for the P . aeruginosa lab strain PAO1, that the self-produced polymer Psl is the most dominant adhesive for attachment to the surface but that another self-produced polymer, Pel, controls the geometry of attachment of these rod-shaped bacteria—strains that make Psl but not Pel are permanently attached to the surface but adhere at only one end (tilting up off the surface), whereas wild-type bacteria that make both Psl and Pel are permanently attached and lie down flat with very little or no tilting (Cooley et al 2013 Soft Matter http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c3sm27638d 9 http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/c3sm27638d ). Here we show that the change in attachment geometry reflects a change in the distribution of Psl on the bacterial cell surface. Bacteria that make Psl and Pel have Psl evenly coating the surface, whereas bacteria that make only Psl have Psl concentrated at only one end. We show that Psl can act as an inheritable, epigenetic factor. Rod-shaped P. aeruginosa grows lengthwise and divides across the middle. We find that asymmetry in the distribution of Psl on a parent cell is reflected in asymmetry between siblings in their attachment to the surface. Thus, Pel not only promotes P. aeruginosa lying down flat on the surface, it also helps to homogenize the distribution of Psl within a bacterial population.https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/18/4/045019Pseudomonas aeruginosapolysaccharidePslPeladhesionmicroscopy |
| spellingShingle | Benjamin J Cooley Sheri Dellos-Nolan Numa Dhamani Ross Todd William Waller Daniel Wozniak Vernita D Gordon Asymmetry and inequity in the inheritance of a bacterial adhesive New Journal of Physics Pseudomonas aeruginosa polysaccharide Psl Pel adhesion microscopy |
| title | Asymmetry and inequity in the inheritance of a bacterial adhesive |
| title_full | Asymmetry and inequity in the inheritance of a bacterial adhesive |
| title_fullStr | Asymmetry and inequity in the inheritance of a bacterial adhesive |
| title_full_unstemmed | Asymmetry and inequity in the inheritance of a bacterial adhesive |
| title_short | Asymmetry and inequity in the inheritance of a bacterial adhesive |
| title_sort | asymmetry and inequity in the inheritance of a bacterial adhesive |
| topic | Pseudomonas aeruginosa polysaccharide Psl Pel adhesion microscopy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/18/4/045019 |
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