Department of Molecular Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
Science. 2010 Feb 12;327(5967):866-8. doi: 10.1126/science.1181185.
Microorganisms can switch from a planktonic, free-swimming life-style to a sessile, colonial state, called a biofilm, which confers resistance to environmental stress. Conversion between the motile and biofilm life-styles has been attributed to increased levels of the prokaryotic second messenger cyclic di-guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP), yet the signaling mechanisms mediating such a global switch are poorly understood. Here we show that the transcriptional regulator VpsT from Vibrio cholerae directly senses c-di-GMP to inversely control extracellular matrix production and motility, which identifies VpsT as a master regulator for biofilm formation. Rather than being regulated by phosphorylation, VpsT undergoes a change in oligomerization on c-di-GMP binding.
微生物可以从浮游的、自由游动的生活方式转变为静止的、殖民的状态，称为生物膜，这赋予了它们对环境压力的抵抗力。从运动到生物膜生活方式的转换归因于原核第二信使环二鸟苷酸单磷酸（c-di-GMP）水平的增加，然而，介导这种全局转换的信号机制知之甚少。在这里，我们表明霍乱弧菌的转录调节剂 VpsT 直接感应 c-di-GMP，从而反向控制细胞外基质的产生和运动性，这表明 VpsT 是生物膜形成的主要调节剂。VpsT 不是通过磷酸化调节，而是在 c-di-GMP 结合时发生寡聚化的变化。
