Open AccessThe response regulator PhoP negatively regulates Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Yersinia pestis biofilms
Author(s) -
Sun YiCheng,
Koumoutsi Alexandra,
Darby Creg
Publication year - 2009
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.1574-6968.2008.01409.x
Subject(s) - yersinia pseudotuberculosis , yersinia pestis , microbiology and biotechnology , biofilm , response regulator , mutant , biology , regulator , caenorhabditis elegans , virulence , bacteria , genetics , gene
A few Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strains form biofilms on the head of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans , but numerous others do not. We show that a widely used Y. pseudotuberculosis strain, YPIII, is biofilm positive because of a mutation in phoP , which encodes the response regulator of a two‐component system. For two wild‐type Y. pseudotuberculosis that do not make biofilms on C. elegans , deletion of phoP was sufficient to produce robust biofilms. In Yersinia pestis , a phoP mutant made more extensive biofilms in vitro than did the wild type. Expression of HmsT, a diguanylate cyclase that positively regulates biofilms, is diminished in Y. pseudotuberculosis strains with functional PhoP.