Molecular and cellular insight into Escherichia coli SslE and its role during biofilm maturation

DOI: 10.1038/s41522-022-00272-5

Authors: Paula M. Corsini (King’s College London; Queen Mary University of London) , Sunjun Wang (King's College London) , Saima Rehman (King’s College London) , Katherine Fenn (Queen Mary University of London) , Amin Sagar (Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS) , Slobodan Sirovica (Queen Mary University of London) , Leanne Cleaver (King’s College London) , Charlotte J. C. Edwards-Gayle (Diamond Light Source) , Giulia Mastroianni (Queen Mary University of London) , Ben Dorgan (King’s College London) , Lee M. Sewell (King’s College London) , Steven Lynham (King’s College London) , Dinu Iuga (University of Warwick) , W. Trent Franks (University of Warwick) , James Jarvis (King’s College London) , Guy H. Carpenter (King’s College London) , Michael. A. Curtis (King’s College London) , Pau Bernadó (Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS) , Vidya C. Darbari (Queen Mary University of London) , James A. Garnett (King’s College London; Queen Mary University of London)
Co-authored by industrial partner: No

Type: Journal Paper
Journal: Npj Biofilms And Microbiomes , VOL 8

State: Published (Approved)
Published: February 2022
Diamond Proposal Number(s): 24690

Abstract: Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative bacterium that colonises the human intestine and virulent strains can cause severe diarrhoeal and extraintestinal diseases. The protein SslE is secreted by a range of pathogenic and commensal E. coli strains. It can degrade mucins in the intestine, promotes biofilm maturation and it is a major determinant of infection in virulent strains, although how it carries out these functions is not well understood. Here, we examine SslE from the commensal E. coli Waksman and BL21 (DE3) strains and the enterotoxigenic H10407 and enteropathogenic E2348/69 strains. We reveal that SslE has a unique and dynamic structure in solution and in response to acidification within mature biofilms it can form a unique aggregate with amyloid-like properties. Furthermore, we show that both SslE monomers and aggregates bind DNA in vitro and co-localise with extracellular DNA (eDNA) in mature biofilms, and SslE aggregates may also associate with cellulose under certain conditions. Our results suggest that interactions between SslE and eDNA are important for biofilm maturation in many E. coli strains and SslE may also be a factor that drives biofilm formation in other SslE-secreting bacteria.

Journal Keywords: Bacteriology; Biofilms; Pathogens

Diamond Keywords: Bacteria; Gastroenteritis

Subject Areas: Biology and Bio-materials, Chemistry


Instruments: B21-High Throughput SAXS

Added On: 28/02/2022 10:56

Documents:
s41522-022-00272-5.pdf

Discipline Tags:

Pathogens Infectious Diseases Health & Wellbeing Biochemistry Chemistry Structural biology Biophysics Life Sciences & Biotech

Technical Tags:

Scattering Small Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS)