Plasmid pPCP1-derived sRNA HmsA promotes biofilm formation of Yersinia pestis. Issue 1 (December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Liu, Zizhong; Gao, Xiaofang; Wang, Hongduo; Fang, Haihong; Yan, Yanfeng; Liu, Lei; Chen, Rong; Zhou, Dongsheng; Yang, Ruifu; Han, Yanping
• Is Part Of: BMC microbiology. Volume 16:Issue 1(2016)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 12
• Publication Date: 2016-12
• Subjects: Microbiology -- Periodicals; 579.05
• DOI: 10.1186/s12866-016-0793-5
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1471-2180

Abstract

Abstract Background The ability ofYersinia pestis to form a biofilm is an important characteristic in flea transmission of this pathogen.Y. pestis laterally acquired two plasmids (pPCP1and pMT1) and the ability to form biofilms when it evolved fromYersinia pseudotuberculosis. Small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) are thought to play a crucial role in the processes of biofilm formation and pathogenesis. Results A pPCP1-derived sRNA HmsA (also known as sR084) was found to contribute to the enhanced biofilm formation phenotype ofY. pestis . The concentration of c-di-GMP was significantly reduced upon deletion of thehmsA gene inY. pestis . The abundance of mRNA transcripts determining exopolysaccharide production, crucial for biofilm formation, was measured by primer extension, RT-PCR andlacZ transcriptional fusion assays in the wild-type andhmsA mutant strains. HmsA positively regulated biofilm synthesis-associated genes (hmsHFRS, hmsT andhmsCDE ), but had no regulatory effect on the biofilm degradation-associated genehmsP. Interestingly, the recently identified biofilm activator sRNA, HmsB, was rapidly degraded in thehmsA deletion mutant. Two genes (rovM androvA ) functioning as biofilm regulators were also found to be regulated by HmsA, whose regulatory effects were consistent with the HmsA-mediated biofilm phenotype. Conclusion HmsA potentially functions as an activator of biofilm formation inY. pestis, implying that sRNAs encoded on the laterally acquired plasmids might be involved in the chromosome-based regulatory networks implicated inY. pestis -specific physiological processes.