Acetic Acid Acts as a Volatile Signal To Stimulate Bacterial Biofilm Formation

ABSTRACT Volatiles are small air-transmittable chemicals with diverse biological activities. In this study, we showed that volatiles produced by the bacterium Bacillus subtilis had a profound effect on biofilm formation of neighboring B. subtilis cells that grew in proximity but were physically sepa...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Yun Chen, Kevin Gozzi, Fang Yan, Yunrong Chai
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	American Society for Microbiology 2015
Materias:	Microbiology QR1-502
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/726e5a1ddc03496cadcef2794c162e84
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:726e5a1ddc03496cadcef2794c162e84
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:726e5a1ddc03496cadcef2794c162e842021-11-15T15:49:03ZAcetic Acid Acts as a Volatile Signal To Stimulate Bacterial Biofilm Formation10.1128/mBio.00392-152150-7511https://doaj.org/article/726e5a1ddc03496cadcef2794c162e842015-07-01T00:00:00Zhttps://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/mBio.00392-15https://doaj.org/toc/2150-7511ABSTRACT Volatiles are small air-transmittable chemicals with diverse biological activities. In this study, we showed that volatiles produced by the bacterium Bacillus subtilis had a profound effect on biofilm formation of neighboring B. subtilis cells that grew in proximity but were physically separated. We further demonstrated that one such volatile, acetic acid, is particularly potent in stimulating biofilm formation. Multiple lines of genetic evidence based on B. subtilis mutants that are defective in either acetic acid production or transportation suggest that B. subtilis uses acetic acid as a metabolic signal to coordinate the timing of biofilm formation. Lastly, we investigated how B. subtilis cells sense and respond to acetic acid in regulating biofilm formation. We showed the possible involvement of three sets of genes (ywbHG, ysbAB, and yxaKC), all encoding putative holin-antiholin-like proteins, in cells responding to acetic acid and stimulating biofilm formation. All three sets of genes were induced by acetate. A mutant with a triple mutation of those genes showed a severe delay in biofilm formation, whereas a strain overexpressing ywbHG showed early and robust biofilm formation. Results of our studies suggest that B. subtilis and possibly other bacteria use acetic acid as a metabolic signal to regulate biofilm formation as well as a quorum-sensing-like airborne signal to coordinate the timing of biofilm formation by physically separated cells in the community. IMPORTANCE Volatiles are small, air-transmittable molecules produced by all kingdoms of organisms including bacteria. Volatiles possess diverse biological activities and play important roles in bacteria-bacteria and bacteria-host interactions. Although volatiles can be used as a novel and important way of cell-cell communication due to their air-transmittable nature, little is known about how the volatile-mediated signaling mechanism works. In this study, we demonstrate that the bacterium Bacillus subtilis uses one such volatile, acetic acid, as a quorum-sensing-like signal to coordinate the timing of the formation of structurally complex cell communities, also known as biofilms. We further characterized the molecular mechanisms of how B. subtilis responds to acetic acid in stimulating biofilm formation. Our study also suggests that acetic acid may be used as a volatile signal for cross-species communication.Yun ChenKevin GozziFang YanYunrong ChaiAmerican Society for MicrobiologyarticleMicrobiologyQR1-502ENmBio, Vol 6, Iss 3 (2015)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Microbiology QR1-502
spellingShingle	Microbiology QR1-502 Yun Chen Kevin Gozzi Fang Yan Yunrong Chai Acetic Acid Acts as a Volatile Signal To Stimulate Bacterial Biofilm Formation
description	ABSTRACT Volatiles are small air-transmittable chemicals with diverse biological activities. In this study, we showed that volatiles produced by the bacterium Bacillus subtilis had a profound effect on biofilm formation of neighboring B. subtilis cells that grew in proximity but were physically separated. We further demonstrated that one such volatile, acetic acid, is particularly potent in stimulating biofilm formation. Multiple lines of genetic evidence based on B. subtilis mutants that are defective in either acetic acid production or transportation suggest that B. subtilis uses acetic acid as a metabolic signal to coordinate the timing of biofilm formation. Lastly, we investigated how B. subtilis cells sense and respond to acetic acid in regulating biofilm formation. We showed the possible involvement of three sets of genes (ywbHG, ysbAB, and yxaKC), all encoding putative holin-antiholin-like proteins, in cells responding to acetic acid and stimulating biofilm formation. All three sets of genes were induced by acetate. A mutant with a triple mutation of those genes showed a severe delay in biofilm formation, whereas a strain overexpressing ywbHG showed early and robust biofilm formation. Results of our studies suggest that B. subtilis and possibly other bacteria use acetic acid as a metabolic signal to regulate biofilm formation as well as a quorum-sensing-like airborne signal to coordinate the timing of biofilm formation by physically separated cells in the community. IMPORTANCE Volatiles are small, air-transmittable molecules produced by all kingdoms of organisms including bacteria. Volatiles possess diverse biological activities and play important roles in bacteria-bacteria and bacteria-host interactions. Although volatiles can be used as a novel and important way of cell-cell communication due to their air-transmittable nature, little is known about how the volatile-mediated signaling mechanism works. In this study, we demonstrate that the bacterium Bacillus subtilis uses one such volatile, acetic acid, as a quorum-sensing-like signal to coordinate the timing of the formation of structurally complex cell communities, also known as biofilms. We further characterized the molecular mechanisms of how B. subtilis responds to acetic acid in stimulating biofilm formation. Our study also suggests that acetic acid may be used as a volatile signal for cross-species communication.
format	article
author	Yun Chen Kevin Gozzi Fang Yan Yunrong Chai
author_facet	Yun Chen Kevin Gozzi Fang Yan Yunrong Chai
author_sort	Yun Chen
title	Acetic Acid Acts as a Volatile Signal To Stimulate Bacterial Biofilm Formation
title_short	Acetic Acid Acts as a Volatile Signal To Stimulate Bacterial Biofilm Formation
title_full	Acetic Acid Acts as a Volatile Signal To Stimulate Bacterial Biofilm Formation
title_fullStr	Acetic Acid Acts as a Volatile Signal To Stimulate Bacterial Biofilm Formation
title_full_unstemmed	Acetic Acid Acts as a Volatile Signal To Stimulate Bacterial Biofilm Formation
title_sort	acetic acid acts as a volatile signal to stimulate bacterial biofilm formation
publisher	American Society for Microbiology
publishDate	2015
url	https://doaj.org/article/726e5a1ddc03496cadcef2794c162e84
work_keys_str_mv	AT yunchen aceticacidactsasavolatilesignaltostimulatebacterialbiofilmformation AT kevingozzi aceticacidactsasavolatilesignaltostimulatebacterialbiofilmformation AT fangyan aceticacidactsasavolatilesignaltostimulatebacterialbiofilmformation AT yunrongchai aceticacidactsasavolatilesignaltostimulatebacterialbiofilmformation
_version_	1718427464860958720

Acetic Acid Acts as a Volatile Signal To Stimulate Bacterial Biofilm Formation

Ejemplares similares