Biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa: fimbrial cup gene clusters are controlled by the transcriptional regulator MvaT.

ABSTRACT: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen which poses a major threat to long-term-hospitalized patients and individuals with cystic fibrosis. The capacity of P. aeruginosa to form biofilms is an important requirement for chronic colonization of human tissues and for persistence in implanted medical devices. Various stages of biofilm formation by this organism are mediated by extracellular appendages, such as type IV pili and flagella. Recently, we identified three P. aeruginosa gene clusters that were termed cup (chaperone-usher pathway) based on their sequence relatedness to the chaperone-usher fimbrial assembly pathway in other bacteria. The cupA gene cluster, but not the cupB or cupC cluster, is required for biofilm formation on abiotic surfaces. In this study, we id

SUBMITTER: Vallet I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC387821 | biostudies-literature | 2004 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature