The N-terminal domain of enterococcal surface protein, Esp, is sufficient for Esp-mediated biofilm enhancement in Enterococcus faecalis.

ABSTRACT: Enterococci have emerged as one of the leading causes of nosocomial bloodstream, surgical site, and urinary tract infections. More recently, enterococci have been associated with biofilms, which are bacterial communities attached to a surface and encased in an extracellular polymeric matrix. The enterococcal cell surface-associated protein, Esp, enhances biofilm formation by Enterococcus faecalis in a glucose-dependent manner. Mature Esp consists of a nonrepeat N-terminal domain and a central region made up of two types of tandem repeats followed by a C-terminal membrane-spanning and anchor domain. This study was undertaken to localize the specific domain(s) of Esp that plays a role in Esp-mediated biofilm enhancement. To achieve this objective, we constructed in-frame deletion mutants exp

SUBMITTER: Tendolkar PM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1196143 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature