Kierek Katharine, Watnick Paula I
Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases, New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2003 Sep;69(9):5079-88. doi: 10.1128/AEM.69.9.5079-5088.2003.
Vibrio cholerae is a versatile bacterium that flourishes in diverse environments, including the human intestine, rivers, lakes, estuaries, and the ocean. Surface attachment is believed to be essential for colonization of all of these natural environments. Previous studies have demonstrated that the vps genes, which encode proteins required for exopolysaccharide synthesis and transport, are required for V. cholerae biofilm development in Luria-Bertani broth. In this work, we showed that V. cholerae forms vps-dependent biofilms and vps-independent biofilms. The vps-dependent and -independent biofilms differ in their environmental activators and in architecture. Our results suggest that environmental activators of vps-dependent biofilm development are present in freshwater, while environmental activators of vps-independent biofilm development are present in seawater. The distinct environmental requirements for the two modes of biofilm development suggest that vps-dependent biofilm development and vps-independent biofilm development may play distinct roles in the natural environment.
霍乱弧菌是一种适应性很强的细菌，能在包括人类肠道、河流、湖泊、河口和海洋在内的各种环境中大量繁殖。表面附着被认为是在所有这些自然环境中定殖的关键。先前的研究表明，编码胞外多糖合成和运输所需蛋白质的vps基因是霍乱弧菌在Luria-Bertani肉汤中形成生物膜所必需的。在这项研究中，我们发现霍乱弧菌能形成依赖vps的生物膜和不依赖vps的生物膜。依赖vps和不依赖vps的生物膜在其环境激活因子和结构上存在差异。我们的结果表明，依赖vps的生物膜发育的环境激活因子存在于淡水中，而不依赖vps的生物膜发育的环境激活因子存在于海水中。两种生物膜发育模式对环境的不同要求表明，依赖vps的生物膜发育和不依赖vps的生物膜发育在自然环境中可能发挥不同的作用。
