Secor Patrick R, Sweere Johanna M, Michaels Lia A, Malkovskiy Andrey V, Lazzareschi Daniel, Katznelson Ethan, Rajadas Jayakumar, Birnbaum Michael E, Arrigoni Allison, Braun Kathleen R, Evanko Stephen P, Stevens David A, Kaminsky Werner, Singh Pradeep K, Parks William C, Bollyky Paul L
Departments of Medicine and Microbiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Department of Medicine, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA; Stanford Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
Cell Host Microbe. 2015 Nov 11;18(5):549-59. doi: 10.1016/j.chom.2015.10.013.
Biofilms-communities of bacteria encased in a polymer-rich matrix-confer bacteria with the ability to persist in pathologic host contexts, such as the cystic fibrosis (CF) airways. How bacteria assemble polymers into biofilms is largely unknown. We find that the extracellular matrix produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa self-assembles into a liquid crystal through entropic interactions between polymers and filamentous Pf bacteriophages, which are long, negatively charged filaments. This liquid crystalline structure enhances biofilm function by increasing adhesion and tolerance to desiccation and antibiotics. Pf bacteriophages are prevalent among P. aeruginosa clinical isolates and were detected in CF sputum. The addition of Pf bacteriophage to sputum polymers or serum was sufficient to drive their rapid assembly into viscous liquid crystals. Fd, a related bacteriophage of Escherichia coli, has similar biofilm-building capabilities. Targeting filamentous bacteriophage or the liquid crystalline organization of the biofilm matrix may represent antibacterial strategies.
生物膜——包裹在富含聚合物的基质中的细菌群落——使细菌能够在病理性宿主环境中持续存在，比如囊性纤维化（CF）气道。细菌如何将聚合物组装成生物膜在很大程度上尚不清楚。我们发现，铜绿假单胞菌产生的细胞外基质通过聚合物与丝状Pf噬菌体之间的熵相互作用自组装成液晶，Pf噬菌体是长的、带负电荷的细丝。这种液晶结构通过增加附着力、对干燥和抗生素的耐受性来增强生物膜功能。Pf噬菌体在铜绿假单胞菌临床分离株中普遍存在，并且在CF痰液中被检测到。向痰液聚合物或血清中添加Pf噬菌体足以促使它们迅速组装成粘性液晶。Fd是大肠杆菌的一种相关噬菌体，具有类似的生物膜构建能力。靶向丝状噬菌体或生物膜基质的液晶组织可能代表抗菌策略。
