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
Services
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 Nakhamchik, A.
Right arrow Articles by Rowe-Magnus, D. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Nakhamchik, A.
Right arrow Articles by Rowe-Magnus, D. A.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Nakhamchik, A.
Right arrow Articles by Rowe-Magnus, D. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2008, p. 4199-4209, Vol. 74, No. 13
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00176-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Cyclic-di-GMP Regulates Extracellular Polysaccharide Production, Biofilm Formation, and Rugose Colony Development by Vibrio vulnificus{triangledown}

Alina Nakhamchik,1,{dagger} Caroline Wilde,2,{dagger} and Dean A. Rowe-Magnus1,2*

Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1L5,1 Division of Clinical Integrative Biology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, S1-26A, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4N 3N52

Received 18 January 2008/ Accepted 6 May 2008

Vibrio vulnificus is a human and animal pathogen that carries the highest death rate of any food-borne disease agent. It colonizes shellfish and forms biofilms on the surfaces of plankton, algae, fish, and eels. Greater understanding of biofilm formation by the organism could provide insight into approaches to decrease its load in filter feeders and on biotic surfaces and control the occurrence of invasive disease. The capsular polysaccharide (CPS), although essential for virulence, is not required for biofilm formation under the conditions used here. In other bacteria, increased biofilm formation often correlates with increased exopolysaccharide (EPS) production. We exploited the translucent phenotype of acapsular mutants to screen a V. vulnificus genomic library and identify genes that imparted an opaque phenotype to both CPS biosynthesis and transport mutants. One of these encoded a diguanylate cyclase (DGC), an enzyme that synthesizes bis-(3'-5')-cyclic-di-GMP (c-di-GMP). This prompted us to use this DGC, DcpA, to examine the effect of elevated c-di-GMP levels on several developmental pathways in V. vulnificus. Increased c-di-GMP levels induced the production of an EPS that was distinct from the CPS and dramatically enhanced biofilm formation and rugosity in a CPS-independent manner. However, the EPS could not compensate for the loss of CPS production that is required for virulence. In contrast to V. cholerae, motility and virulence appeared unaffected by elevated levels of c-di-GMP.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Clinical Integrative Biology, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, 2075 Bayview Avenue, S1-26A, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4N 3N5. Phone: (416) 480-6100, ext. 3318. Fax: (416) 180-5737. E-mail: dean.rowe-magnus{at}sri.utoronto.ca

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 16 May 2008.

{dagger} These authors contributed equally to this work.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, July 2008, p. 4199-4209, Vol. 74, No. 13
0099-2240/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00176-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Brown, R. N., Gulig, P. A. (2009). Roles of RseB, {sigma}E, and DegP in Virulence and Phase Variation of Colony Morphotype of Vibrio vulnificus. Infect. Immun. 77: 3768-3781 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hara, S., Hashidoko, Y., Desyatkin, R. V., Hatano, R., Tahara, S. (2009). High Rate of N2 Fixation by East Siberian Cryophilic Soil Bacteria as Determined by Measuring Acetylene Reduction in Nitrogen-Poor Medium Solidified with Gellan Gum. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 2811-2819 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Yang, T.-C., Leu, Y.-W., Chang-Chien, H.-C., Hu, R.-M. (2009). Flagellar Biogenesis of Xanthomonas campestris Requires the Alternative Sigma Factors RpoN2 and FliA and Is Temporally Regulated by FlhA, FlhB, and FlgM. J. Bacteriol. 191: 2266-2275 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»