The MerR-like transcriptional regulator BrlR contributes to Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm tolerance.

ABSTRACT: Biofilms are composed of surface-attached microbial communities. A hallmark of biofilms is their profound tolerance of antimicrobial agents. While biofilm drug tolerance has been considered to be multifactorial, our findings indicate, instead, that bacteria within biofilms employ a classical regulatory mechanism to resist the action of antimicrobial agents. Here we report that the transcriptional regulator BrlR, a member of the MerR family of multidrug transport activators, plays a role in the high-level drug tolerance of biofilms formed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Expression of brlR was found to be biofilm specific, with brlR inactivation not affecting biofilm formation, motility, or pslA expression but increasing ndvB expression. Inactivation of brlR rendered biofilms but not planktonic c

SUBMITTER: Liao J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3430307 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature