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  • Title: Quorum sensing affects biofilm formation through lipopolysaccharide synthesis in Klebsiella pneumoniae.
    Author: De Araujo C, Balestrino D, Roth L, Charbonnel N, Forestier C.
    Journal: Res Microbiol; 2010 Sep; 161(7):595-603. PubMed ID: 20600864.
    Abstract:
    Biofilm formation by Klebsiella pneumoniae is modulated by quorum sensing through the synthesis of interspecies AI-2 autoinducers. We characterized in K. pneumoniae the genes homologous to those described in Escherichia coli involved in AI-2 transport, and created two isogenic mutants deleted of lsrCD and tqsA. The levels of extracellular AI-2 with lsrCD and tqsA knockout mutants showed increased and lowered concentrations of AI-2, respectively. The level of transcripts of luxS, the gene responsible for AI-2 synthesis, was increased in sessile cells of the tqsA mutant. In contrast, the expression of the AI-2 import regulator genes lsrR and lsrK was decreased. In addition, the two mutants lsrCD and tqsA formed biofilms with greater biomass but impaired architecture. Since exopolysaccharides play a main role in K. pneumoniae biofilm formation, we investigated their relationship with AI-2 synthesis. None of the mutations in luxS and the AI-2 transport systems affected the expression of three capsule polysaccharide-related genes (wzi, wza and wzx), but all induced an increase in the expression of two lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-synthesis-related genes, wbbM and wzm. AI-2 therefore seems to act as a regulator of biofilm formation and LPS synthesis in sessile K. pneumoniae cells.
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