Work

Klebsiella pneumoniae AI-2 transporters mediate interspecies interactions and composition in a three-species biofilm community

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Biofilms in nature often exist as communities. In this study, an experimental mixed-species community consisting of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas protegens and Klebsiella pneumoniae was used to investigate how AI-2 transporters affect interspecies interactions and composition. The K. pneumoniae lsrB/lsrD deletion mutants had a 10-25-fold higher concentration of extracellular AI-2 compared to the wild-type. Although these deletion mutants produced monospecies biofilms of similar biomass, the substitution of these mutants for the parental strain significantly altered composition. Dual-species biofilm assays demonstrated that the changes in composition were due to the cumulative effect of pairwise interactions. It was further revealed that K. pneumoniae being present physically in the consortium was important in AI-2 mediating composition in the consortium, and that AI-2 transporters were crucial in achieving maximum biomass in the community. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that AI-2 transporters mediate interspecies interactions and is important in maintaining the compositional equilibrium of the community.

Source: npj Biofilms and Microbiomes

DOI: 10.1038/s41522-024-00546-0

Authors: Muhammad Zulfadhly Bin Mohammad Muzaki, Sujatha Subramoni, Stephen Summers, Staffan Kjelleberg, Scott A. Rice

Institutions: Nanyang Technological University, Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

Language: English

Topic: Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensing

Subfield: Molecular Biology

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,990

Funder: National Research Foundation