Rieu Aurélie, Briandet Romain, Habimana Olivier, Garmyn Dominique, Guzzo Jean, Piveteau Pascal
Laboratoire de Recherche En Vigne et Vin, Université de Bourgogne, IUVV, F-21000 Dijon, France.
Appl Environ Microbiol. 2008 Jul;74(14):4491-7. doi: 10.1128/AEM.00255-08. Epub 2008 May 23.
Listeria monocytogenes is a food pathogen that can attach on most of the surfaces encountered in the food industry. Biofilms are three-dimensional microbial structures that facilitate the persistence of pathogens on surfaces, their resistance toward antimicrobials, and the final contamination of processed goods. So far, little is known about the structural dynamics of L. monocytogenes biofilm formation and its regulation. The aims of this study were, by combining genetics and time-lapse laser-scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), (i) to characterize the structural dynamics of L. monocytogenes EGD-e sessile growth in two nutritional environments (with or without a nutrient flow), and (ii) to evaluate the possible role of the L. monocytogenes agr system during biofilm formation by tracking the spatiotemporal fluorescence expression of a green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter system. In the absence of nutrient flow (static conditions), unstructured biofilms composed of a few layers of cells that covered the substratum were observed. In contrast, when grown under dynamic conditions, L. monocytogenes EGD-e biofilms were highly organized. Indeed, ball-shaped microcolonies were surrounded by a network of knitted chains. The spatiotemporal tracking of fluorescence emitted by the GFP reporter system revealed that agr expression was barely detectable under static conditions, but it progressively increased during 40 h under dynamic conditions. Moreover, spatial analysis revealed that agr was expressed preferentially in cells located outside the microcolonies. Finally, the in-frame deletion of agrA, which encodes a transcriptional regulator, resulted in a decrease in initial adherence without affecting the subsequent biofilm development.
单核细胞增生李斯特菌是一种食源性病原体,可附着于食品工业中遇到的大多数表面。生物膜是三维微生物结构,有助于病原体在表面持续存在、增强其对抗菌剂的抗性,并最终导致加工食品受到污染。到目前为止,关于单核细胞增生李斯特菌生物膜形成的结构动态及其调控知之甚少。本研究的目的是通过结合遗传学和延时激光扫描共聚焦显微镜(LSCM),(i)表征单核细胞增生李斯特菌EGD-e在两种营养环境(有或没有营养流)中的固着生长的结构动态,以及(ii)通过追踪绿色荧光蛋白(GFP)报告系统的时空荧光表达,评估单核细胞增生李斯特菌agr系统在生物膜形成过程中的可能作用。在没有营养流的情况下(静态条件),观察到由覆盖在基质上的几层细胞组成的无结构生物膜。相反,在动态条件下生长时,单核细胞增生李斯特菌EGD-e生物膜高度有序。实际上,球形微菌落被交织链网络包围。GFP报告系统发出的荧光的时空追踪显示,在静态条件下几乎检测不到agr表达,但在动态条件下40小时内逐渐增加。此外,空间分析表明agr在位于微菌落外部的细胞中优先表达。最后,编码转录调节因子的agrA的框内缺失导致初始粘附减少,而不影响随后的生物膜发育。