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A different path: Revealing the function of staphylococcal proteins in biofilm formation
Author(s) -
Atkin Kate E.,
MacDonald Sandy J.,
Brentnall Andrew S.,
Potts Jennifer R.,
Thomas Gavin H.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2014.04.002
Subject(s) - biofilm , staphylococcus epidermidis , microbiology and biotechnology , staphylococcus aureus , bacteria , biology , computational biology , chemistry , genetics
Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis cause dangerous and difficult to treat medical device‐related infections through their ability to form biofilms. Extracellular poly‐ N ‐acetylglucosamine (PNAG) facilitates biofilm formation and is a vaccination target, yet details of its biosynthesis by the icaADBC gene products is limited. IcaC is the proposed transporter for PNAG export, however a comparison of the Ica proteins to homologous exo‐polysaccharide synthases suggests that the common IcaAD protein components both synthesise and transport the PNAG. The limited distribution of icaC to the Staphylococcaceae and its membership of a family of membrane‐bound acyltransferases, leads us to suggest that IcaC is responsible for the known O ‐succinylation of PNAG that occurs in staphylococci, identifying a potentially new therapeutic target specific for these bacteria.