The staphylococcal biofilm protein Aap mediates cell-cell adhesion through mechanically distinct homophilic and lectin interactions.

ABSTRACT: The accumulation phase of staphylococcal biofilms relies on both the production of an extracellular polysaccharide matrix and the expression of bacterial surface proteins. A prototypical example of such adhesive proteins is the long multidomain protein Aap (accumulation-associated protein) from Staphylococcus epidermidis, which mediates zinc-dependent homophilic interactions between Aap B-repeat regions through molecular forces that have not been investigated yet. Here, we unravel the remarkable mechanical strength of single Aap-Aap homophilic bonds between living bacteria and we demonstrate that intercellular adhesion also involves sugar binding through the lectin domain of the Aap A region. We find that the mechanical force needed to unfold individual β-sheet-rich G5-E domains fro

SUBMITTER: Wang C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9802226 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature