Role of Glutamate Synthase in Biofilm Formation by Bacillus subtilis.

ABSTRACT: Bacillus subtilis forms robust biofilms in the presence of large amounts of carbon sources, such as glycerol. However, little is known about the importance of the metabolic systems, or the relationship between metabolic systems and regulatory systems, involved in biofilm formation. Glutamate synthase, encoded by gltAB, is an enzyme that converts 2-ketoglutarate (a tricarboxylic acid [TCA] cycle intermediate) and glutamine into glutamate, which is a general amino group donor in metabolism. Here, we show that a ΔgltA mutant exhibited early arrest of biofilm formation in complex medium containing glycerol. This phenotype was not due to glutamate auxotrophy. Consistent with its biofilm formation phenotype, the ΔgltA mutant exhibited an early decrease in expression of the epsA and tapA operons,

SUBMITTER: Kimura T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7317036 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature