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Biofilm development and cell death in the marine bacterium pseudoalteromonas tunicata

Biofilm development and cell death in the marine bacterium pseudoalteromonas tunicata
Biofilm development and cell death in the marine bacterium pseudoalteromonas tunicata
The newly described green-pigmented bacterium Pseudoalteromonas tunicata (D2) produces target-specific inhibitory compounds against bacteria, algae, fungi, and invertebrate larvae and is frequently found in association with living surfaces in the marine environment. As part of our studies on the ecology of P. tunicata and its interaction with marine surfaces, we examined the ability of P. tunicata to form biofilms under continuous culture conditions within the laboratory. P. tunicata biofilms exhibited a characteristic architecture consisting of differentiated microcolonies surrounded by water channels.

Remarkably, we observed a repeatable pattern of cell death during biofilm development of P. tunicata, similar to that recently reported for biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (J. S. Webb et al., J. Bacteriol. 185:4585-4595, 2003). Killing and lysis occurred inside microcolonies, apparently resulting in the formation of voids within these structures. A subpopulation of viable cells was always observed within the regions of killing in the biofilm. Moreover, extensive killing in mature biofilms appeared to result in detachment of the biofilm from the substratum. A novel 190-kDa autotoxic protein produced by P. tunicata, designated AlpP, was found to be involved in this biofilm killing and detachment. A alpP mutant derivative of P. tunicata was generated, and this mutant did not show cell death during biofilm development. We propose that AlpP-mediated cell death plays an important role in the multicellular biofilm development of P. tunicata and subsequent dispersal of surviving cells within the marine environment.
0099-2240
3232-3238
Mai-Prochnow, Anne
11d9ad32-68fb-4569-a471-8273b5063460
Evans, Flavia
e6e2ca40-55ac-42c4-b63b-f9b599af3dbb
Dalisay-Saludes, Doralyn
28591695-5e0c-411a-8cd6-c5d1cb04f7c3
Stelzer, Sacha
c93b0e88-8a28-41c3-a8c4-5b6a03f61364
Egan, Suhelen
ed013d4f-f8c5-40b2-b3e1-caec2a6fb1fc
James, Sally
56bebdac-9ab9-4113-a55d-8916da07df58
Webb, Jeremy S.
ec0a5c4e-86cc-4ae9-b390-7298f5d65f8d
Kjelleberg, Staffan
043b66b5-130c-42f2-99b3-ec3eecf3248e
Mai-Prochnow, Anne
11d9ad32-68fb-4569-a471-8273b5063460
Evans, Flavia
e6e2ca40-55ac-42c4-b63b-f9b599af3dbb
Dalisay-Saludes, Doralyn
28591695-5e0c-411a-8cd6-c5d1cb04f7c3
Stelzer, Sacha
c93b0e88-8a28-41c3-a8c4-5b6a03f61364
Egan, Suhelen
ed013d4f-f8c5-40b2-b3e1-caec2a6fb1fc
James, Sally
56bebdac-9ab9-4113-a55d-8916da07df58
Webb, Jeremy S.
ec0a5c4e-86cc-4ae9-b390-7298f5d65f8d
Kjelleberg, Staffan
043b66b5-130c-42f2-99b3-ec3eecf3248e

Mai-Prochnow, Anne, Evans, Flavia, Dalisay-Saludes, Doralyn, Stelzer, Sacha, Egan, Suhelen, James, Sally, Webb, Jeremy S. and Kjelleberg, Staffan (2004) Biofilm development and cell death in the marine bacterium pseudoalteromonas tunicata. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 70 (6), 3232-3238. (doi:10.1128/AEM.70.6.3232-3238.2004).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The newly described green-pigmented bacterium Pseudoalteromonas tunicata (D2) produces target-specific inhibitory compounds against bacteria, algae, fungi, and invertebrate larvae and is frequently found in association with living surfaces in the marine environment. As part of our studies on the ecology of P. tunicata and its interaction with marine surfaces, we examined the ability of P. tunicata to form biofilms under continuous culture conditions within the laboratory. P. tunicata biofilms exhibited a characteristic architecture consisting of differentiated microcolonies surrounded by water channels.

Remarkably, we observed a repeatable pattern of cell death during biofilm development of P. tunicata, similar to that recently reported for biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (J. S. Webb et al., J. Bacteriol. 185:4585-4595, 2003). Killing and lysis occurred inside microcolonies, apparently resulting in the formation of voids within these structures. A subpopulation of viable cells was always observed within the regions of killing in the biofilm. Moreover, extensive killing in mature biofilms appeared to result in detachment of the biofilm from the substratum. A novel 190-kDa autotoxic protein produced by P. tunicata, designated AlpP, was found to be involved in this biofilm killing and detachment. A alpP mutant derivative of P. tunicata was generated, and this mutant did not show cell death during biofilm development. We propose that AlpP-mediated cell death plays an important role in the multicellular biofilm development of P. tunicata and subsequent dispersal of surviving cells within the marine environment.

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Published date: June 2004

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 186835
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/186835
ISSN: 0099-2240
PURE UUID: 9e5a4004-c3fd-4499-83bb-4d1832483307
ORCID for Jeremy S. Webb: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2068-8589

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Date deposited: 20 May 2011 13:55
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:26

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Contributors

Author: Anne Mai-Prochnow
Author: Flavia Evans
Author: Doralyn Dalisay-Saludes
Author: Sacha Stelzer
Author: Suhelen Egan
Author: Sally James
Author: Jeremy S. Webb ORCID iD
Author: Staffan Kjelleberg

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