Open AccessMycobacterium smegmatis biofilm formation and sliding motility are affected by the serine/threonine protein kinase PknF
Author(s) -
Gopalaswamy Radha,
Narayanan Sujatha,
Jacobs William R.,
AvGay Yossef
Publication year - 2008
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.1574-6968.2007.00989.x
Subject(s) - mycobacterium smegmatis , biofilm , threonine , serine , biology , kinase , strain (injury) , motility , microbiology and biotechnology , mycobacterium tuberculosis , protein kinase a , beta galactosidase , mycobacterium , biochemistry , phosphorylation , bacteria , gene , genetics , tuberculosis , escherichia coli , medicine , pathology , anatomy
Eighteen ‘eukaryotic‐like’ serine/threonine kinases are present in the Mycobacterium smegmatis genome. One of them encoded by the ORF 3677 demonstrates high similarity to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein kinase PknF. A merodiploid strain was generated, which showed reduced growth associated with irregular cell structure. The merodiploid strain displayed altered colony morphology, defective sliding motility and biofilm formation. These data indicate a role for PknF in biofilm formation, possibly associated with alterations in glycopeptidolipid composition.