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A tyrosine phosphoregulatory system controls exopolysaccharide biosynthesis and biofilm formation in Vibrio cholerae

Schwechheimer, Carmen and Hebert, Kassidy and Tripathi, Sarvind and Singh, Praveen K. and Floyd, Kyle A. and Brown, Elise R. and Porcella, Monique E. and Osorio, Jacqueline and Kiblen, Joseph T. M. and Pagliai, Fernando A. and Drescher, Knut and Rubin, Seth M. and Yildiz, Fitnat H.. (2020) A tyrosine phosphoregulatory system controls exopolysaccharide biosynthesis and biofilm formation in Vibrio cholerae. PLoS Pathogens, 16 (8). e1008745.

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Abstract

Production of an extracellular matrix is essential for biofilm formation, as this matrix both secures and protects the cells it encases. Mechanisms underlying production and assembly of matrices are poorly understood. Vibrio cholerae, relies heavily on biofilm formation for survival, infectivity, and transmission. Biofilm formation requires Vibrio polysaccharide (VPS), which is produced by vps gene-products, yet the function of these products remains unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the vps gene-products vpsO and vpsU encode respectively for a tyrosine kinase and a cognate tyrosine phosphatase. Collectively, VpsO and VpsU act as a tyrosine phosphoregulatory system to modulate VPS production. We present structures of VpsU and the kinase domain of VpsO, and we report observed autocatalytic tyrosine phosphorylation of the VpsO C-terminal tail. The position and amount of tyrosine phosphorylation in the VpsO C-terminal tail represses VPS production and biofilm formation through a mechanism involving the modulation of VpsO oligomerization. We found that tyrosine phosphorylation enhances stability of VpsO. Regulation of VpsO phosphorylation by the phosphatase VpsU is vital for maintaining native VPS levels. This study provides new insights into the mechanism and regulation of VPS production and establishes general principles of biofilm matrix production and its inhibition.
Faculties and Departments:05 Faculty of Science > Departement Biozentrum > Infection Biology > Microbiology and Biophysics (Drescher)
UniBasel Contributors:Drescher, Knut
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Public Library of Science
ISSN:1553-7366
e-ISSN:1553-7374
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Language:English
Identification Number:
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Last Modified:25 Jun 2021 09:03
Deposited On:25 Jun 2021 09:03

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