Bacteria can colonize on surfaces to form, antibiotic-resistant, multicellular communities called biofilms which can have negative implications in the agriculture field, food industry, and medical and industrial settings. Cyclic-di-guanosine monophosphate (c-di-GMP), a bacteria-specific second messenger molecule, regulates biofilm formation. Further, submicromolar concentrations of nitric oxide (NO), a eukaryotic and bacterial signaling molecule, have been linked to dispersal in various bacterial species. The objective of my research is to investigate how nitric oxide regulates biofilm formation and c-di-GMP metabolism in the plant pathogen Agrobacterium vitis which contains a heme-based NO sensor, called heme nitric oxide /oxygen (H- NOX) binding protein, associated with a bifunctional c-di-GMP-processing metalloenzyme. We will present evidence from the biochemical characterization of a NO/H-NOX signaling pathway in A. vitis and biofilm growth studies, that NO reduces bacterial biofilms through the regulation of intracellular c-di-GMP concentrations.

Biological on/off switch for bacterial biofilm formation in Agrobacterium vitis

255th National Meeting (2018)

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