Abstract
AbstractBiofilms are cooperative bacterial communities, in which diffusible signal-mediated quorum sensing coordinates the activities of member cells. However, limited diffusion in extracellular polymeric substance (EPS)-filled biofilms suggests existence of another intercellular signaling mechanism that is more adapted to the biofilm environment. Here, I demonstrate that theyfjAoperon ofBacillus subtilisencodes one such signaling mechanism. TheyfjAoperon was induced by the two-component system DegSU, which controls biofilm development. Deleting theyfjAoperon resulted in increased expression of DegSU-regulated genes under nutrient-rich conditions, hastening the onset of sporulation in biofilms. TheyfjAoperon encoded the type VII secretion system effector toxin YFJ in addition to its related proteins. YFJ toxin-mediated intercellular competition required EPS components which promote close cell-cell association, suggesting that the contact-dependent YFJ toxin system functions specifically in biofilms. The YFJ toxin also functioned as an intercellular signal that controlled the activity of DegSU. I propose that the YFJ toxin system is a biofilm-specific intercellular signaling mechanism that controls cell fate in biofilms in response to nutrient conditions and population size.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Cited by
1 articles.
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