Open AccessComparative analysis of a biofilm‐forming Staphylococcus epidermidis strain and its adhesion‐positive, accumulation‐negative mutant M7
Author(s) -
SchumacherPerdreau F.,
Heilmann C.,
Peters G.,
Götz F.,
Pulverer G.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
fems microbiology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.899
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1574-6968
pISSN - 0378-1097
DOI - 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1994.tb06744.x
Subject(s) - staphylococcus epidermidis , biofilm , microbiology and biotechnology , mutant , biology , mutagenesis , wild type , plasmid , extracellular , strain (injury) , staphylococcus aureus , bacteria , dna , genetics , gene , anatomy
We have isolated a stable slime‐negative mutant, M7, from the wild‐type Staphylococcus epidermidis RP62A by mitomycin mutagenesis. Besides its inability to produce slime in the test tube this mutant differed also in two other properties from its parent strain: it lacked the ability to accumulate on a surface, and it did not produce a 115 kDa and a 18 kDa extracellular protein. In all other tested properties such as initial adherence, growth rate, cell‐wall composition, surface characteristics, DNA restriction profile, the presence of a 29 kb antibiotic resistance plasmid, and antimicrobial susceptibility profile, M7 was indistinguishable from its wild‐type. The mutant is an important basis for further study of the pathogenesis of polymer‐associated S. epidermidis infections.