Skip to main content

Lund University Publications

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Role of the polyamine transporter PotABCD during biofilm formation by Streptococcus pneumoniae

Vieira, Brenda ; Alcantara, Jessica B ; Destro, Giulia ; Guerra, Maria E S ; Oliveira, Sheila ; Lima, Carolina A ; Longato, Giovanna B ; Hakansson, Anders P LU orcid ; Leite, Luciana C and Darrieux, Michelle LU , et al. (2024) In PLoS ONE 19(8).
Abstract

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a bacterium of great global importance, responsible for more than one million deaths per year. This bacterium is commonly acquired in the first years of life and colonizes the upper respiratory tract asymptomatically by forming biofilms that persist for extended times in the nasopharynx. However, under conditions that alter the bacterial environment, such as viral infections, pneumococci can escape from the biofilm and invade other niches, causing local and systemic disease of varying severity. The polyamine transporter PotABCD is required for optimal survival of the organism in the host. Immunization of mice with recombinant PotD can reduce subsequent bacterial colonization. PotD has also been suggested to... (More)

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a bacterium of great global importance, responsible for more than one million deaths per year. This bacterium is commonly acquired in the first years of life and colonizes the upper respiratory tract asymptomatically by forming biofilms that persist for extended times in the nasopharynx. However, under conditions that alter the bacterial environment, such as viral infections, pneumococci can escape from the biofilm and invade other niches, causing local and systemic disease of varying severity. The polyamine transporter PotABCD is required for optimal survival of the organism in the host. Immunization of mice with recombinant PotD can reduce subsequent bacterial colonization. PotD has also been suggested to be involved in pneumococcal biofilm development. Therefore, in this study we aimed to elucidate the role of PotABCD and polyamines in pneumococcal biofilm formation. First, the formation of biofilms was evaluated in the presence of exogenous polyamines-the substrate transported by PotABCD-added to culture medium. Next, a potABCD-negative strain was used to determine biofilm formation in different model systems using diverse levels of complexity from abiotic surface to cell substrate to in vivo animal models and was compared with its wild-type strain. The results showed that adding more polyamines to the medium stimulated biofilm formation, suggesting a direct correlation between polyamines and biofilm formation. Also, deletion of potABCD operon impaired biofilm formation in all models tested. Interestingly, more differences between wild-type and mutant strains were observed in the more complex model, which emphasizes the significance of employing more physiological models in studying biofilm formation.

(Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and , et al. (More)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; and (Less)
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Biofilms/growth & development, Streptococcus pneumoniae/physiology, Animals, Mice, Polyamines/metabolism, Bacterial Proteins/metabolism, Pneumococcal Infections/microbiology, Membrane Transport Proteins/metabolism, Operon
in
PLoS ONE
volume
19
issue
8
article number
e0307573
publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85200901613
  • pmid:39110759
ISSN
1932-6203
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0307573
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
8eda9192-d5b5-4c8a-b166-8e7661ef0a9e
date added to LUP
2024-09-09 12:43:42
date last changed
2024-09-10 03:10:11
@article{8eda9192-d5b5-4c8a-b166-8e7661ef0a9e,
  abstract     = {{<p>Streptococcus pneumoniae is a bacterium of great global importance, responsible for more than one million deaths per year. This bacterium is commonly acquired in the first years of life and colonizes the upper respiratory tract asymptomatically by forming biofilms that persist for extended times in the nasopharynx. However, under conditions that alter the bacterial environment, such as viral infections, pneumococci can escape from the biofilm and invade other niches, causing local and systemic disease of varying severity. The polyamine transporter PotABCD is required for optimal survival of the organism in the host. Immunization of mice with recombinant PotD can reduce subsequent bacterial colonization. PotD has also been suggested to be involved in pneumococcal biofilm development. Therefore, in this study we aimed to elucidate the role of PotABCD and polyamines in pneumococcal biofilm formation. First, the formation of biofilms was evaluated in the presence of exogenous polyamines-the substrate transported by PotABCD-added to culture medium. Next, a potABCD-negative strain was used to determine biofilm formation in different model systems using diverse levels of complexity from abiotic surface to cell substrate to in vivo animal models and was compared with its wild-type strain. The results showed that adding more polyamines to the medium stimulated biofilm formation, suggesting a direct correlation between polyamines and biofilm formation. Also, deletion of potABCD operon impaired biofilm formation in all models tested. Interestingly, more differences between wild-type and mutant strains were observed in the more complex model, which emphasizes the significance of employing more physiological models in studying biofilm formation.</p>}},
  author       = {{Vieira, Brenda and Alcantara, Jessica B and Destro, Giulia and Guerra, Maria E S and Oliveira, Sheila and Lima, Carolina A and Longato, Giovanna B and Hakansson, Anders P and Leite, Luciana C and Darrieux, Michelle and R Converso, Thiago}},
  issn         = {{1932-6203}},
  keywords     = {{Biofilms/growth & development; Streptococcus pneumoniae/physiology; Animals; Mice; Polyamines/metabolism; Bacterial Proteins/metabolism; Pneumococcal Infections/microbiology; Membrane Transport Proteins/metabolism; Operon}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{8}},
  publisher    = {{Public Library of Science (PLoS)}},
  series       = {{PLoS ONE}},
  title        = {{Role of the polyamine transporter PotABCD during biofilm formation by Streptococcus pneumoniae}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0307573}},
  doi          = {{10.1371/journal.pone.0307573}},
  volume       = {{19}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}