Cyclic di-GMP as an antitoxin regulates bacterial genome stability and antibiotic persistence in biofilms.

ABSTRACT: Biofilms are complex bacterial communities characterized by a high persister prevalence, which contributes to chronic and relapsing infections. Historically, persister formation in biofilms has been linked to constraints imposed by their dense structures. However, we observed an elevated persister frequency accompanying the stage of cell adhesion, marking the onset of biofilm development. Subsequent mechanistic studies uncovered a comparable type of toxin-antitoxin (TA) module (TA-like system) triggered by cell adhesion, which is responsible for this elevation. In this module, the toxin HipH acts as a genotoxic deoxyribonuclease, inducing DNA double strand breaks and genome instability. While the second messenger c-di-GMP functions as the antitoxin, exerting control over HipH expression an

SUBMITTER: Liao H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11452175 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature