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Microbiology Society logo Microbiology

Volume 169, Issue 9

Mutation of putative glycosyl transferases PslC and PslI confers susceptibility to antibiotics and leads to drastic reduction in biofilm formation in Open Access

Abstract

is an opportunistic, multidrug-resistant pathogen capable of adapting to numerous environmental conditions and causing fatal infections in immunocompromised patients. The predominant lifestyle of is in the form of biofilms, which are structured communities of bacteria encapsulated in a matrix containing exopolysaccharides, extracellular DNA (eDNA) and proteins. The matrix is impervious to antibiotics, rendering the bacteria tolerant to antimicrobials. also produces a plethora of virulence factors such as pyocyanin, rhamnolipids and lipopolysaccharides among others. In this study we present the molecular characterization of and genes, of the exopolysaccharide operon, that code for putative glycosyltransferases. PslC is a 303 amino acid containing putative GT2 glycosyltrasferase, whereas PslI is a 367 aa long protein, possibly functioning as a GT4 glycosyltransferase. Mutation in either of these two genes results in a significant reduction in biofilm biomass with concomitant decline in c-di-GMP levels in the bacterial cells. Moreover, mutation in and dramatically increased susceptibility of to tobramycin, colistin and ciprofloxacin. Additionally, these mutations also resulted in an increase in rhamnolipids and pyocyanin formation. We demonstrate that elevated rhamnolipids promote a swarming phenotype in the mutant strains. Together these results highlight the importance of PslC and PslI in the biogenesis of biofilms and their potential as targets for increased antibiotic susceptibility and biofilm inhibition.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): biofilm , glycosyl transferase , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , PslC and PslI
Funding
This study was supported by the:
  • Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, India
    • Principle Award Recipient: DeeptiJain
© 2023 The Authors
  • This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.

Erratum

A correction has been published for this content:
Erratum: Mutation of putative glycosyl transferases PslC and PslI confers susceptibility to antibiotics and leads to drastic reduction in biofilm formation in
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2023-09-13
2025-06-12
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/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001392
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Mutation of putative glycosyl transferases PslC and PslI confers susceptibility to antibiotics and leads to drastic reduction in biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Microbiology 169, 001392 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.001392
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001392
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.001392
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