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Journal of Bacteriology, February 2003, p. 1384-1390, Vol. 185, No. 4
0021-9193/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.185.4.1384-1390.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Identification and Characterization of a Vibrio cholerae Gene, mbaA, Involved in Maintenance of Biofilm Architecture

Natalia Bomchil, Paula Watnick,{dagger} and Roberto Kolter*

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115

Received 29 July 2002/ Accepted 11 October 2002

The formation of biofilms is thought to play a key role in the environmental survival of the marine bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Although the factors involved in V. cholerae attachment to abiotic surfaces have been extensively studied, relatively little is known about the mechanisms involved in the subsequent maturation of the biofilms. Here we report the identification of a novel gene, which we have named mbaA (for maintenance of biofilm architecture), that plays a role in the formation and maintenance of the highly organized three-dimensional architecture of V. cholerae El Tor biofilms. We demonstrate that although the absence of mbaA does not significantly affect the initial attachment of cells onto the surface, it leads to the formation of biofilms that lack the typical structure, including the pillars of cells separated by fluid-filled channels that are evident in mature wild-type biofilms. Microscopic analysis indicates that the absence of mbaA leads to an increase in the amount of extracellular matrix material in the biofilms. The predicted mbaA product is a member of a family of regulatory proteins, containing GGDEF and EAL domains, suggesting that MbaA regulates the synthesis of some component of the biofilm matrix.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, 200 Longwood Ave., Boston, MA 02115. Phone: (617) 432-1776. Fax: (617) 738-7664. E-mail: rkolter{at}hms.harvard.edu.

{dagger} Present address: Division of Geographic Medicine and Infectious Disease, New England Medical Center, Boston, MA 02111.

Journal of Bacteriology, February 2003, p. 1384-1390, Vol. 185, No. 4
0021-9193/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/JB.185.4.1384-1390.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



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