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Cited by 143Bacterial Genetics and BiotechnologyBacterial biofilms and quorum sensingBiochemical and Structural Characterization

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A mechanical signal transmitted by the flagellum controls signalling in Bacillus subtilis

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Cairns, Lynne S., Marlow, Victoria L., Bissett, Emma, Ostrowski, Adam, Stanley‐Wall, Nicola R.·2013·Molecular Microbiology
DOI 10.1111/mmi.12342PMC PMC3963450
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Abstract

Summary: In the natural environment bacteria predominantly live adhered to a surface as part of a biofilm. While many of the components needed for biofilm assembly are known, the mechanism by which microbes sense and respond to contact with a surface is poorly understood. B acillus subtilis is a G ram‐positive model for biofilm formation. The DegS – DegU two‐component system controls several multicellular behaviours in B . subtilis , including biofilm formation. Here we identify the B . subtilis flagellum as a mechanosensor that activates the DegS – DegU regulatory pathway. Inhibition of flagellar rotation by deletion or mutation of the flagellar stator gene, motB , results in an increase in both degU transcription and DegU ∼ P driven processes, namely exoprotease production and poly‐γ‐ dl ‐glutamic acid biosynthesis. Similarly, inhibition of flagellar rotation by engaging the flagellar clutch or by tethering the flagella with antibodies also promotes an increase in degU transcription that is reflective of increased DegU ∼ P levels in the cell. Collectively, these findings strongly indicate that inhibition of flagellar rotation acts as a mechanical trigger to activate the DegS – DegU two‐component signal transduction system. We postulate that inhibition of flagellar rotation could function as a mechanical trigger to activate bacterial signal transduction cascades in many motile bacteria upon contact with a surface.

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Figures

Figure 1 Deletion of motB from the chromosome is associated with γ-PGA production.A. Colony morphology of 3610 (wild-type), ΔmotB (NRS3494), ΔmotB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-lacI (NRS3775) grown on LB agar plate in the absence or presence of 50 μM IPTG, ΔmotB + pgsB::spc (NRS3434), ΔpgdS (NRS3347), ΔpgdSΔmotB (NRS3348) and ΔmotB + degS::cml (NRS3398).B. Schematic diagram of the γ-PGA synthesis operon and γ-PGA hydrolase gene. Arrows represent open reading frames (ORF), with the direction of the arrow indicating the direction of the ORF. The bent arrow represents the promoter located before the pgdS gene, which is driven by the alternative sigma factor, σD, as indicated.C. SDS-PAGE of γ-PGA collected from cultures of NCIB3610, ΔmotB (NRS3494) and ΔmotB + pgsB::spc (NRS3434) grown to the onset of stationary phase.D. Reverse-transcription-PCR analysis of pgsB and pgdS. Regions of DNA internal to pgsB and pgdS were amplified from cDNA generated from the wild-type (NCIB3610), ΔmotB (NRS3494) and ΔmotB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-lacI (NRS3775) grown in the absence and presence of 50 μM IPTG. Genomic DNA (gDNA) was used as a positive control for the PCR reaction and the ribosomal 16S rRNA was amplified as an internal control.
Figure 1 Deletion of motB from the chromosome is associated with γ-PGA production.A. Colony morphology of 3610 (wild-type), ΔmotB (NRS3494), ΔmotB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-lacI (NRS3775) grown on LB agar plate in the absence or presence of 50 μM IPTG, ΔmotB + pgsB::spc (NRS3434), ΔpgdS (NRS3347), ΔpgdSΔmotB (NRS3348) and ΔmotB + degS::cml (NRS3398).B. Schematic diagram of the γ-PGA synthesis operon and γ-PGA hydrolase gene. Arrows represent open reading frames (ORF), with the direction of the arrow indicating the direction of the ORF. The bent arrow represents the promoter located before the pgdS gene, which is driven by the alternative sigma factor, σD, as indicated.C. SDS-PAGE of γ-PGA collected from cultures of NCIB3610, ΔmotB (NRS3494) and ΔmotB + pgsB::spc (NRS3434) grown to the onset of stationary phase.D. Reverse-transcription-PCR analysis of pgsB and pgdS. Regions of DNA internal to pgsB and pgdS were amplified from cDNA generated from the wild-type (NCIB3610), ΔmotB (NRS3494) and ΔmotB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-lacI (NRS3775) grown in the absence and presence of 50 μM IPTG. Genomic DNA (gDNA) was used as a positive control for the PCR reaction and the ribosomal 16S rRNA was amplified as an internal control.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 2 Increasing DegU∼P levels allows γ-PGA production in NCIB3610.A. Schematic diagram of the construction of the ΔdegU + amyE::PIPTG-degU32hy-lacI strain (NRS1325). Bent arrows represent the promoters located before each gene.B. Colony morphology of the ΔdegU + amyE::PIPTG-degU32hy-lacI (NRS1325) strain without and with induction with 25 μM IPTG.C. SDS-PAGE of γ-PGA collected from cultures of ΔdegU + amyE::PIPTG-degU32hy-lacI (NRS1325) and ΔdegU + amyE::PIPTG-degU32hy-lacI + pgsB::spc (NRS3770) grown to the onset of stationary phase in the absence or presence of 25 μM IPTG.
Figure 2 Increasing DegU∼P levels allows γ-PGA production in NCIB3610.A. Schematic diagram of the construction of the ΔdegU + amyE::PIPTG-degU32hy-lacI strain (NRS1325). Bent arrows represent the promoters located before each gene.B. Colony morphology of the ΔdegU + amyE::PIPTG-degU32hy-lacI (NRS1325) strain without and with induction with 25 μM IPTG.C. SDS-PAGE of γ-PGA collected from cultures of ΔdegU + amyE::PIPTG-degU32hy-lacI (NRS1325) and ΔdegU + amyE::PIPTG-degU32hy-lacI + pgsB::spc (NRS3770) grown to the onset of stationary phase in the absence or presence of 25 μM IPTG.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 3 Transcription of degU and aprE is increased alongside total protease activity in ΔmotB.A. β-Galactosidase assays of strains carrying the PdegU–lacZ transcriptional reporter fusion. Strains shown are WT (wild-type NRS4351), ΔmotB (NRS4345), motB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-lacI (NRS4396) grown in the absence or presence of 50 μM IPTG, ΔmotAB (NRS4354) and ΔdegU (NRS4373). All cells were collected at the onset of stationary phase.B. β-Galactosidase assays of strains carrying the PaprE–lacZ transcriptional reporter fusion. Strains shown are WT (wild-type NRS1561), ΔmotB (NRS3440), ΔmotB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-lacI (NRS3858) grown in the absence or presence of 50 μM IPTG and ΔmotAB (NRS4093). All cells were collected at the onset of stationary phase.C. Total protease activity assays performed with the supernatant collected from cells grown in (B).Data in parts (A), (B) and (C) are plotted as the average of at least three independent replicates; in (C) data are represented as a fold change relative to the wild-type strain which was assigned value of 1. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. An asterisk denotes significance as calculated by the Student's t-test where * represents P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01 and *** P < 0.001.
Figure 3 Transcription of degU and aprE is increased alongside total protease activity in ΔmotB.A. β-Galactosidase assays of strains carrying the PdegU–lacZ transcriptional reporter fusion. Strains shown are WT (wild-type NRS4351), ΔmotB (NRS4345), motB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-lacI (NRS4396) grown in the absence or presence of 50 μM IPTG, ΔmotAB (NRS4354) and ΔdegU (NRS4373). All cells were collected at the onset of stationary phase.B. β-Galactosidase assays of strains carrying the PaprE–lacZ transcriptional reporter fusion. Strains shown are WT (wild-type NRS1561), ΔmotB (NRS3440), ΔmotB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-lacI (NRS3858) grown in the absence or presence of 50 μM IPTG and ΔmotAB (NRS4093). All cells were collected at the onset of stationary phase.C. Total protease activity assays performed with the supernatant collected from cells grown in (B).Data in parts (A), (B) and (C) are plotted as the average of at least three independent replicates; in (C) data are represented as a fold change relative to the wild-type strain which was assigned value of 1. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. An asterisk denotes significance as calculated by the Student's t-test where * represents P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01 and *** P < 0.001.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 4 The motB D24A allele cannot complement ΔmotB.A and B. β-Galactosidase assays of strains carrying the (A) PdegU–lacZ or (B) PaprE–lacZ transcriptional reporter fusion. Strains shown are WT (wild-type NRS4351), ΔmotB (NRS4345), motB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-D24A-lacI (NRS4397) grown in the absence or presence of 50 μM IPTG and ΔdegU (NRS4373).B. β-Galactosidase assays of strains carrying the PaprE–lacZ transcriptional reporter fusion. Strains shown are WT (wild-type NRS1561), ΔmotB (NRS3440), ΔmotB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-D24A-lacI (NRS3870) grown in the absence or presence of 50 μM IPTG. All cells in (A) and (B) were collected at the onset of stationary phase.C. Total protease activity assays performed with supernatants collected from cells grown in (B).Data in (A), (B) and (C) are plotted as the average of at least three independent replicates. In (C) data are represented as a fold change relative to the wild-type strain which was assigned value of 1. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. An asterisk denotes significance as calculated by the Student's t-test where * represents P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; and *** P < 0.001.D. Colony morphology of ΔmotB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-D24A-lacI (NRS3870) grown on LB agar in the absence and presence of 50 μM IPTG. SDS-PAGE analysis of γ-PGA collected from cultures of ΔmotB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-D24A-lacI (NRS3870) grown in the absence or presence of 50 μM IPTG.
Figure 4 The motB D24A allele cannot complement ΔmotB.A and B. β-Galactosidase assays of strains carrying the (A) PdegU–lacZ or (B) PaprE–lacZ transcriptional reporter fusion. Strains shown are WT (wild-type NRS4351), ΔmotB (NRS4345), motB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-D24A-lacI (NRS4397) grown in the absence or presence of 50 μM IPTG and ΔdegU (NRS4373).B. β-Galactosidase assays of strains carrying the PaprE–lacZ transcriptional reporter fusion. Strains shown are WT (wild-type NRS1561), ΔmotB (NRS3440), ΔmotB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-D24A-lacI (NRS3870) grown in the absence or presence of 50 μM IPTG. All cells in (A) and (B) were collected at the onset of stationary phase.C. Total protease activity assays performed with supernatants collected from cells grown in (B).Data in (A), (B) and (C) are plotted as the average of at least three independent replicates. In (C) data are represented as a fold change relative to the wild-type strain which was assigned value of 1. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. An asterisk denotes significance as calculated by the Student's t-test where * represents P < 0.05; **P < 0.01; and *** P < 0.001.D. Colony morphology of ΔmotB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-D24A-lacI (NRS3870) grown on LB agar in the absence and presence of 50 μM IPTG. SDS-PAGE analysis of γ-PGA collected from cultures of ΔmotB + amyE::PIPTG-motB-D24A-lacI (NRS3870) grown in the absence or presence of 50 μM IPTG.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 5 Engaging the flagellar clutch causes an increase in DegU∼P levels.A–C. β-Galactosidase assays of strains carrying the (A) PdegU–lacZ, (B) PbslA–lacZ or (C) PaprE–lacZ transcriptional reporter fusion. Cells were grown to 0.5 OD600 and induced with 1 mM IPTG (final concentration). Strains shown are: (A) wild-type (NRS4351), epsE + (PIPTG-epsE-lacI (NRS4374)), epsE D94A + (PIPTG-epsE-D94A-lacI (NRS4392)) and epsE K106E (PIPTG-epsE-K106E-lacI (NRS4394)); (B) Wild-type (NRS2052), PIPTG-epsE-lacI (NRS4405), PIPTG-epsE-D94A-lacI (NRS4406) and PIPTG-epsE-K106E-lacI (NRS4407); (C) Wild-type (NRS1561), PIPTG-epsE-lacI (NRS4345), PIPTG-epsE-D94A-lacI (NRS4393) and PIPTG-epsE-K106E-lacI (NRS4395). Data shown in (A), (B) and (C) are plotted as the average of at least three independent replicates. Error bars represent standard error of the mean.D. Total protease activity assays performed with supernatants collected from cells grown in (C) after 120 min of induction in the absence or presence of 1 mM IPTG. Data are plotted as the average of at least three independent replicates and are represented as a fold change relative to the wild-type strain (WT) which was assigned value of 1. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. An asterisk denotes significance as calculated by the Student's t-test, where ** represents P < 0.01; and *** P < 0.001.
Figure 5 Engaging the flagellar clutch causes an increase in DegU∼P levels.A–C. β-Galactosidase assays of strains carrying the (A) PdegU–lacZ, (B) PbslA–lacZ or (C) PaprE–lacZ transcriptional reporter fusion. Cells were grown to 0.5 OD600 and induced with 1 mM IPTG (final concentration). Strains shown are: (A) wild-type (NRS4351), epsE + (PIPTG-epsE-lacI (NRS4374)), epsE D94A + (PIPTG-epsE-D94A-lacI (NRS4392)) and epsE K106E (PIPTG-epsE-K106E-lacI (NRS4394)); (B) Wild-type (NRS2052), PIPTG-epsE-lacI (NRS4405), PIPTG-epsE-D94A-lacI (NRS4406) and PIPTG-epsE-K106E-lacI (NRS4407); (C) Wild-type (NRS1561), PIPTG-epsE-lacI (NRS4345), PIPTG-epsE-D94A-lacI (NRS4393) and PIPTG-epsE-K106E-lacI (NRS4395). Data shown in (A), (B) and (C) are plotted as the average of at least three independent replicates. Error bars represent standard error of the mean.D. Total protease activity assays performed with supernatants collected from cells grown in (C) after 120 min of induction in the absence or presence of 1 mM IPTG. Data are plotted as the average of at least three independent replicates and are represented as a fold change relative to the wild-type strain (WT) which was assigned value of 1. Error bars represent standard error of the mean. An asterisk denotes significance as calculated by the Student's t-test, where ** represents P < 0.01; and *** P < 0.001.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 6 Engaging the flagellar clutch triggers an increase in γ-PGA production that requires DegS.A. Colony morphology of PIPTG-epsE-lacI (NRS4085), PIPTG-epsE-D94A-lacI (NRS4388) and PIPTG-epsE-K106E-lacI (NRS4389) in the absence and presence of 1 mM IPTG after growth overnight at 37°C.B. Colony morphology of PIPTG-epsE-lacI + degS::cml (NRS4399), PIPTG-epsE-D94A-lacI + degS::cml (NRS4400) and PIPTG-epsE-K106E-lacI + degS::cml (NRS4401) in the absence and presence of 1 mM IPTG after growth overnight at 37°C.C. SDS-PAGE of γ-PGA collected from cultures of 3610 (wild-type NRS1561), PIPTG-epsE-lacI (NRS4345) and PIPTG-epsE-D94A-lacI (NRS4393) and PIPTG-epsE-K106E-lacI (NRS4395), grown in the absence or presence of 1 mM IPTG, at the onset of stationary phase.
Figure 6 Engaging the flagellar clutch triggers an increase in γ-PGA production that requires DegS.A. Colony morphology of PIPTG-epsE-lacI (NRS4085), PIPTG-epsE-D94A-lacI (NRS4388) and PIPTG-epsE-K106E-lacI (NRS4389) in the absence and presence of 1 mM IPTG after growth overnight at 37°C.B. Colony morphology of PIPTG-epsE-lacI + degS::cml (NRS4399), PIPTG-epsE-D94A-lacI + degS::cml (NRS4400) and PIPTG-epsE-K106E-lacI + degS::cml (NRS4401) in the absence and presence of 1 mM IPTG after growth overnight at 37°C.C. SDS-PAGE of γ-PGA collected from cultures of 3610 (wild-type NRS1561), PIPTG-epsE-lacI (NRS4345) and PIPTG-epsE-D94A-lacI (NRS4393) and PIPTG-epsE-K106E-lacI (NRS4395), grown in the absence or presence of 1 mM IPTG, at the onset of stationary phase.CC BY · PubMed Central
Figure 7 Tethering the flagella triggers an increase in degU transcription.A. Micrographs of cells containing the PdegU–lacZ transcriptional reporter fusion (NRS4351) grown presence or absence of Hag antibody in sera. Micrographs are static images taken from movies filmed 5 min after the addition of antibody to the culture (see Movies S1 and S2). Scale bars represent 100 pixels.B. β-Galactosidase assays of the wild-type strain carrying the PdegU–lacZ transcriptional reporter fusion (NRS4351) grown in the presence of a 1:20 dilution of either pre-immune sera or the Hag-specific antibody. Three independent pre-immune sera were used as controls. Data are plotted as the average of at least three independent replicates. Error bars represent standard error of the mean.
Figure 7 Tethering the flagella triggers an increase in degU transcription.A. Micrographs of cells containing the PdegU–lacZ transcriptional reporter fusion (NRS4351) grown presence or absence of Hag antibody in sera. Micrographs are static images taken from movies filmed 5 min after the addition of antibody to the culture (see Movies S1 and S2). Scale bars represent 100 pixels.B. β-Galactosidase assays of the wild-type strain carrying the PdegU–lacZ transcriptional reporter fusion (NRS4351) grown in the presence of a 1:20 dilution of either pre-immune sera or the Hag-specific antibody. Three independent pre-immune sera were used as controls. Data are plotted as the average of at least three independent replicates. Error bars represent standard error of the mean.CC BY · PubMed Central

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Metadata

Authors
Cairns, L. S., Marlow, V. L., Bissett, E., Ostrowski, A., & Stanley‐Wall, N. R.
Affiliations
University of Dundee (GB)
Corresponding author
Stanley‐Wall, Nicola R.
ORCID
Venue
Molecular Microbiology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2013-08-14
Volume
90
Issue
1
Pages
6-21
ISSN
  • 0950-382X (ISSN-L)
  • 1365-2958
DOI
10.1111/mmi.12342
PMC
PMC3963450
OpenAlex
W1908456294
Cited by
143
References
98
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 8
FWCI
9.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Molecular Microbiology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Discovery Research Portal (University of Dundee) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Wellcome Trust (093714, 097945, 093714/Z/10/Z, 097818/Z/11, 097945/B/11/Z, 097818/Z/11/A)
  • International Seafood Sustainability Foundation
  • Directorate for Biological Sciences
  • Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BB/I006915/1, BB/H002340/1, BB/D526161/1)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensing
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Biochemical and Structural Characterization
Keywords
Bacillus subtilis, flagella, mechanosensing, biofilm formation, MotB, bacterial signal transduction
MeSH terms
Bacillus subtilis, Bacterial Proteins, Flagella, Locomotion, Signal Transduction, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial

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