Scavone Paola, Iribarnegaray Victoria, González María José, Navarro Nicolás, Caneles-Huerta Nicole, Jara-Wilde Jorge, Härtel Steffen, Zunino Pablo
Department of Microbiology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Department of Microbiology, Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas Clemente Estable, Montevideo, Uruguay; Department of Pathobiology, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Rev Argent Microbiol. 2023 Jul-Sep;55(3):226-234. doi: 10.1016/j.ram.2023.01.005. Epub 2023 Apr 17.
Proteus mirabilis(P. mirabilis) is a common etiological agent of urinary tract infections, particularly those associated with catheterization. P. mirabilis efficiently forms biofilms on different surfaces and shows a multicellular behavior called 'swarming', mediated by flagella. To date, the role of flagella in P. mirabilis biofilm formation has been under debate. In this study, we assessed the role of P. mirabilis flagella in biofilm formation using an isogenic allelic replacement mutant unable to express flagellin. Different approaches were used, such as the evaluation of cell surface hydrophobicity, bacterial motility and migration across catheter sections, measurements of biofilm biomass and biofilm dynamics by immunofluorescence and confocal microscopy in static and flow models. Our findings indicate that P. mirabilis flagella play a role in biofilm formation, although their lack does not completely avoid biofilm generation. Our data suggest that impairment of flagellar function can contribute to biofilm prevention in the context of strategies focused on particular bacterial targets.
奇异变形杆菌（P. mirabilis）是尿路感染的常见病原体，尤其是与导尿相关的感染。奇异变形杆菌能在不同表面高效形成生物膜，并表现出一种由鞭毛介导的多细胞行为，称为“群集运动”。迄今为止，鞭毛在奇异变形杆菌生物膜形成中的作用一直存在争议。在本研究中，我们使用一个无法表达鞭毛蛋白的同基因等位基因替换突变体，评估了奇异变形杆菌鞭毛在生物膜形成中的作用。我们采用了不同的方法，如评估细胞表面疏水性、细菌运动性以及细菌穿过导管切片的迁移情况，通过免疫荧光和共聚焦显微镜在静态和流动模型中测量生物膜生物量和生物膜动态变化。我们的研究结果表明，奇异变形杆菌鞭毛在生物膜形成中发挥作用，尽管缺乏鞭毛并不能完全阻止生物膜的产生。我们的数据表明，在针对特定细菌靶点的策略背景下，鞭毛功能的受损有助于预防生物膜形成。
