Oligomeric lipoprotein PelC guides Pel polysaccharide export across the outer membrane of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

ABSTRACT: Secreted polysaccharides are important functional and structural components of bacterial biofilms. The opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa produces the cationic exopolysaccharide Pel, which protects bacteria from aminoglycoside antibiotics and contributes to biofilm architecture through ionic interactions with extracellular DNA. A bioinformatics analysis of genome databases suggests that gene clusters for Pel biosynthesis are present in >125 bacterial species, yet little is known about how this biofilm exopolysaccharide is synthesized and exported from the cell. In this work, we characterize PelC, an outer membrane lipoprotein essential for Pel production. Crystal structures of PelC from Geobacter metallireducens and Paraburkholderia phytofirmans coupled with

SUBMITTER: Marmont LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5358405 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature