A Genome-Wide Analysis of Adhesion in Caulobacter crescentus Identifies New Regulatory and Biosynthetic Components for Holdfast Assembly.

ABSTRACT: Due to their intimate physical interactions with the environment, surface polysaccharides are critical determinants of fitness for bacteria. Caulobacter crescentus produces a specialized structure at one of its cell poles called the holdfast that enables attachment to surfaces. Previous studies have shown that the holdfast is composed of carbohydrate-based material and identified a number of genes required for holdfast development. However, incomplete information about its chemical structure, biosynthetic genes, and regulatory principles has limited progress in understanding the mechanism of holdfast synthesis. We leveraged the adhesive properties of the holdfast to perform a saturating screen for genes affecting attachment to cheesecloth over a multiday time course. Using similarit

SUBMITTER: Hershey DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6372794 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature