Article of Significant Interest Selected from This Issue by the Editors

Involvement of Diguanylate Cyclase DgcZ in Cpx-Mediated Surface Adhesion of Escherichia coli

One role of the CpxAR two-component system in Escherichia coli is to promote surface adhesion. However, the Cpx-regulated genes involved in this mechanism are unknown. Lacanna et al. (p. 2524–2535) show that one of these genes is dgcZ, encoding a diguanylate cyclase which controls production of the exopolysaccharide poly-beta-1,6-N-acetylglucosamine. Additionally, the authors identified FrdB, a subunit of the fumarate reductase complex, as a protein interaction partner of DgcZ. Both proteins were required for increased biofilm formation upon induction of oxidative stress. Altogether, this study suggests an integrative role of DgcZ in surface attachment.