This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Tomlin, K. L.
Right arrow Articles by Ceri, H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Tomlin, K. L.
Right arrow Articles by Ceri, H.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Tomlin, K. L.
Right arrow Articles by Ceri, H.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2005, p. 5208-5218, Vol. 71, No. 9
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.9.5208-5218.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Quorum-Sensing Mutations Affect Attachment and Stability of Burkholderia cenocepacia Biofilms

Kerry L. Tomlin,1,{dagger} Rebecca J. Malott,2 Gordon Ramage,1,{ddagger} Douglas G. Storey,1,3 Pamela A. Sokol,2 and H. Ceri1,3*

Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N41,1 Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary Health Sciences Centre, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N12,2 Biofilm Research Group, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N433

Received 5 May 2004/ Accepted 4 April 2005

Biofilm formation in Burkholderia cenocepacia has been shown to rely in part on acylhomoserine lactone-based quorum sensing. For many other bacterial species, it appears that both the initial adherence and the later stages of biofilm maturation are affected when quorum sensing pathways are inhibited. In this study, we examined the effects of mutations in the cepIR and cciIR quorum-sensing systems of Burkholderia cenocepacia K56-2 with respect to biofilm attachment and antibiotic resistance. We also examined the role of the cepIR system in biofilm stability and structural development. Using the high-throughput MBEC assay system to produce multiple equivalent biofilms, the biomasses of both the cepI and cepR mutant biofilms, measured by crystal violet staining, were less than half of the value observed for the wild-type strain. Attachment was partially restored upon providing functional gene copies via multicopy expression vectors. Surprisingly, neither the cciI mutant nor the double cciI cepI mutant was deficient in attachment, and restoration of the cciI gene resulted in less attachment than for the mutants. Meanwhile, the cciR mutant did show a significant reduction in attachment, as did the cciR cepIR mutant. While there was no change in antibiotic susceptibility with the individual cepIR and cciIR mutants, the cepI cciI mutant biofilms were more sensitive to ciprofloxacin. A significant increase in sensitivity to removal by sodium dodecyl sulfate was seen for the cepI and cepR mutants. Flow cell analysis of the individual cepIR mutant biofilms indicated that they were both structurally and temporally impaired in attachment and development. These results suggest that biofilm structural defects might be present in quorum-sensing mutants of B. cenocepacia that affect the stability and resistance of the adherent cell mass, providing a basis for future studies to design preventative measures against biofilm formation in this species, an important lung pathogen of cystic fibrosis patients.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 1N4. Phone: (403) 220-6960. Fax: (403) 289-9311. E-mail: ceri{at}ucalgary.ca.

{dagger} Present address: Department of Medicine (Pulmonary Science), National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver, CO 80206.

{ddagger} Present address: School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University, Glasgow G4 0BA, United Kingdom.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2005, p. 5208-5218, Vol. 71, No. 9
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.9.5208-5218.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Malott, R. J., O'Grady, E. P., Toller, J., Inhulsen, S., Eberl, L., Sokol, P. A. (2009). A Burkholderia cenocepacia Orphan LuxR Homolog Is Involved in Quorum-Sensing Regulation. J. Bacteriol. 191: 2447-2460 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Malott, R. J., Sokol, P. A. (2007). Expression of the bviIR and cepIR Quorum-Sensing Systems of Burkholderia vietnamiensis. J. Bacteriol. 189: 3006-3016 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Subsin, B., Chambers, C. E., Visser, M. B., Sokol, P. A. (2007). Identification of Genes Regulated by the cepIR Quorum-Sensing System in Burkholderia cenocepacia by High-Throughput Screening of a Random Promoter Library. J. Bacteriol. 189: 968-979 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Wopperer, J., Cardona, S. T., Huber, B., Jacobi, C. A., Valvano, M. A., Eberl, L. (2006). A Quorum-Quenching Approach To Investigate the Conservation of Quorum-Sensing-Regulated Functions within the Burkholderia cepacia Complex. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 1579-1587 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2010 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»