The absence of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa OprF protein leads to increased biofilm formation through variation in c-di-GMP level

SiaA/D Interconnects c-di-GMP and RsmA Signaling to Coordinate Cellular Aggregation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Response to Environmental Conditions

Pseudomonas aeruginosa has emerged as an important opportunistic human pathogen that is often highly resistant to eradication strategies, mediated in part by the formation of multicellular aggregates. Cellular aggregates may occur attached to a surface (biofilm), at the air-liquid interface (pellicle), or as suspended aggregates. Compared to surface attached communities, knowledge about the regulatory processes involved in the formation of suspended cell aggregates is still limited. We have recently described the SiaA/D signal transduction module that regulates macroscopic cell aggregation during growth with, or in the presence of the surfactant SDS. Targets for SiaA/D mediated regulation include the Psl polysaccharide, the CdrAB two-partner secretion system and the CupA fimbriae. While the global regulators c-di-GMP and RsmA are known to inversely coordinate cell aggregation and regulate the expression of several adhesins, their potential impact on the expression of the cupA operon remains unknown. Here, we investigated the function of SiaA (a putative ser/thr phosphatase) and SiaD (a di-guanylate cyclase) in cupA1 expression using transcriptional reporter fusions and qRT-PCR. These studies revealed a novel interaction between the RsmA posttranscriptional regulatory system and SiaA/D mediated macroscopic aggregation. The RsmA/rsmY/Z system was found to affect macroscopic aggregate formation in the presence of surfactant by impacting the stability of the cupA1 mRNA transcript and we reveal that RsmA directly binds to the cupA1 leader sequence in vitro. We further identified that transcription of the RsmA antagonist rsmZ is controlled in a SiaA/D dependent manner during growth with SDS. Finally, we found that the siaD transcript is also under regulatory control of RsmA and that overproduction of RsmA or the deletion of siaD results in decreased cellular cyclic di-guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP) levels quantified by a transcriptional reporter, demonstrating that SiaA/D connects c-di-GMP and RsmA/rsmY/Z signaling to reciprocally regulate cell aggregation in response to environmental conditions.

Regulation of GacA in Pseudomonas chlororaphis Strains Shows a Niche Specificity

The GacS/GacA two-component system plays a central role in the regulation of a broad range of biological functions in many bacteria. In the biocontrol organism Pseudomonas chlororaphis, the Gac system has been shown to positively control quorum sensing, biofilm formation, and phenazine production, but has an overall negative impact on motility. These studies have been performed with strains originated from the rhizosphere predominantly. To investigate the level of conservation between the GacA regulation of biocontrol-related traits in P. chlororaphis isolates from different habitats, the studies presented here focused on the endophytic isolate G5 of P. chlororaphis subsp. aurantiaca. A gacA mutant deficient in the production of N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) and phenazine was isolated through transposon mutagenesis. Further phenotypic characterization revealed that in strain G5, similar to other P. chlororaphis strains, a gacA mutation caused inability to produce biocontrol factors such as phenazine, HCN and proteases responsible for antifungal activity, but overproduced siderophores. LC-MS/MS analysis revealed that AHL production was also practically abolished in this mutant. However, the wild type exhibited an extremely diverse AHL pattern which has never been identified in P. chlororaphis. In contrast to other isolates of this organism, GacA in strain G5 was shown to negatively regulate biofilm formation and oxidative stress response whilst positively regulating cell motility and biosynthesis of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). To gain a better understanding of the overall impact of GacA in G5, a comparative proteomic analysis was performed revealing that, in addition to some of the traits like phenazine mentioned above, GacA also negatively regulated lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and trehalose biosynthesis whilst having a positive impact on energy metabolism, an effect not previously described in P. chlororaphis. Consequently, GacA regulation shows a differential strain dependency which is likely to be in line with their niche of origin.