E. coli integrates amyloid fibers termed curli and a modified form of cellulose to assemble a mechanically robust extracellular matrix (ECM). The discovery that E. coli produces a modified form of cellulose was made possible by solid-state NMR analysis of the intact matrix material produced by uropathogenic E. coli. This modified form of cellulose contains a hydroxyl-substituted O-linked aminoethyl (-OCH2CH2NH3+) functionality on the C2 carbon. We determined that the aminoethyl functionality is derived from serine and that three relatively uncharacterized genes in the bacterial cellulose synthesis operon are involved in the installation of the modification on cellulose. An E. coli mutant incapable of modifying cellulose cannot form well-integrated biofilms on agar or at the air liquid interface. Thus, approaches to inhibit the modification of cellulose in E. coli may enable the development of new anti-infectives to prevent biofilm formation by uropathogenic E. coli, the most common causative agent of urinary tract infections. In addition, the identification of the biosynthetic production of a modified cellulose holds potential value in the generation of cellulosic materials and in efforts to improve the conversion of cellulose to glucose for ethanol production.

Aminoethyl cellulose: E. coli ’s building material for a biofilm matrix

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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