Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Applied and Environmental Microbiology logoLink to Applied and Environmental Microbiology
. 1995 May;61(5):1897–1903. doi: 10.1128/aem.61.5.1897-1903.1995

Evidence for the Adhesive Function of the Exopolysaccharide of Hyphomonas Strain MHS-3 in Its Attachment to Surfaces

E J Quintero, R M Weiner
PMCID: PMC1388446  PMID: 16535028

Abstract

Hyphomonas strain MHS-3 (MHS-3) is a marine procaryote with a biphasic life cycle and which has prosthecate stages that adhere to submerged substrata. We found that adherent forms produced an exopolysaccharide (EPS) capsule that bound Glycine max lectin, Arachis hypogaea lectin, and Bauhinia purpurea lectin (BPA), each having affinity for N-acetyl-d-galactosamine. It also bound the dye Calcofluor. BPA and Calcofluor were tested for the ability to hinder MHS-3 adhesion to glass surfaces; they reduced attachment by >50 and >85%, respectively. Periodate treatment also reduced attachment (by >80%), but pronase treatment did not. Furthermore, an EPS(sup-) variant, Hyphomonas strain MHS-3 rad, did not attach well to surfaces. These results suggest that the MHS-3 EPS capsule is an adhesin.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (832.5 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Bartlett D. H., Wright M. E., Silverman M. Variable expression of extracellular polysaccharide in the marine bacterium Pseudomonas atlantica is controlled by genome rearrangement. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1988 Jun;85(11):3923–3927. doi: 10.1073/pnas.85.11.3923. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Christensen G. D., Baddour L. M., Madison B. M., Parisi J. T., Abraham S. N., Hasty D. L., Lowrance J. H., Josephs J. A., Simpson W. A. Colonial morphology of staphylococci on Memphis agar: phase variation of slime production, resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics, and virulence. J Infect Dis. 1990 Jun;161(6):1153–1169. doi: 10.1093/infdis/161.6.1153. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Coplin D. L., Cook D. Molecular genetics of extracellular polysaccharide biosynthesis in vascular phytopathogenic bacteria. Mol Plant Microbe Interact. 1990 Sep-Oct;3(5):271–279. doi: 10.1094/mpmi-3-271. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Doherty D., Leigh J. A., Glazebrook J., Walker G. C. Rhizobium meliloti mutants that overproduce the R. meliloti acidic calcofluor-binding exopolysaccharide. J Bacteriol. 1988 Sep;170(9):4249–4256. doi: 10.1128/jb.170.9.4249-4256.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Easson D. D., Jr, Sinskey A. J., Peoples O. P. Isolation of Zoogloea ramigera I-16-M exopolysaccharide biosynthetic genes and evidence for instability within this region. J Bacteriol. 1987 Oct;169(10):4518–4524. doi: 10.1128/jb.169.10.4518-4524.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Haigler C. H., Brown R. M., Jr, Benziman M. Calcofluor white ST Alters the in vivo assembly of cellulose microfibrils. Science. 1980 Nov 21;210(4472):903–906. doi: 10.1126/science.7434003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hoiseth S. K., Connelly C. J., Moxon E. R. Genetics of spontaneous, high-frequency loss of b capsule expression in Haemophilus influenzae. Infect Immun. 1985 Aug;49(2):389–395. doi: 10.1128/iai.49.2.389-395.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Jannasch H. W., Wirsen C. O. Morphological survey of microbial mats near deep-sea thermal vents. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1981 Feb;41(2):528–538. doi: 10.1128/aem.41.2.528-538.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Johnson J. A., Panigrahi P., Morris J. G., Jr Non-O1 Vibrio cholerae NRT36S produces a polysaccharide capsule that determines colony morphology, serum resistance, and virulence in mice. Infect Immun. 1992 Mar;60(3):864–869. doi: 10.1128/iai.60.3.864-869.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kamoun S., Kado C. I. Phenotypic Switching Affecting Chemotaxis, Xanthan Production, and Virulence in Xanthomonas campestris. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1990 Dec;56(12):3855–3860. doi: 10.1128/aem.56.12.3855-3860.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Larkin J. M., Nelson R. Mechanism of attachment of swarm cells of Thiothrix nivea. J Bacteriol. 1987 Dec;169(12):5877–5879. doi: 10.1128/jb.169.12.5877-5879.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Marshall K. C., Cruickshank R. H. Cell surface hydrophobicity and the orientation of certain bacteria at interfaces. Arch Mikrobiol. 1973 Apr 8;91(1):29–40. doi: 10.1007/BF00409536. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Matsumoto I., Osawa T. Purification and characterization of a Cytisus-type Anti-H(O) phytohemagglutinin from Ulex europeus seeds. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1970 Oct;140(2):484–491. doi: 10.1016/0003-9861(70)90092-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Merker R. I., Smit J. Characterization of the adhesive holdfast of marine and freshwater caulobacters. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1988 Aug;54(8):2078–2085. doi: 10.1128/aem.54.8.2078-2085.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Moore R. L., Marshall K. C. Attachment and rosette formation by hyphomicrobia. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1981 Nov;42(5):751–757. doi: 10.1128/aem.42.5.751-757.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Morioka H., Tachibana M., Suganuma A. Ultrastructural localization of carbohydrates on thin sections of Staphylococcus aureus with silver methenamine and wheat germ agglutinin-gold complex. J Bacteriol. 1987 Mar;169(3):1358–1362. doi: 10.1128/jb.169.3.1358-1362.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Orskov F., Orskov I. The serology of capsular antigens. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 1990;150:43–63. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Poindexter J. S. The caulobacters: ubiquitous unusual bacteria. Microbiol Rev. 1981 Mar;45(1):123–179. doi: 10.1128/mr.45.1.123-179.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Tsien H. C., Schmidt E. L. Localization and partial characterization of soybean lectin-binding polysaccharide of Rhizobium japonicum. J Bacteriol. 1981 Feb;145(2):1063–1074. doi: 10.1128/jb.145.2.1063-1074.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Tsien H. C., Schmidt E. L. Polarity in the exponential-phase Rhizobium japonicum cell. Can J Microbiol. 1977 Sep;23(9):1274–1284. doi: 10.1139/m77-191. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Williams T. M., Unz R. F., Doman J. T. Ultrastructure of Thiothrix spp. and "Type 021N" Bacteria. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1987 Jul;53(7):1560–1570. doi: 10.1128/aem.53.7.1560-1570.1987. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Wrangstadh M., Szewzyk U., Ostling J., Kjelleberg S. Starvation-specific formation of a peripheral exopolysaccharide by a marine Pseudomonas sp., strain S9. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1990 Jul;56(7):2065–2072. doi: 10.1128/aem.56.7.2065-2072.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Applied and Environmental Microbiology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES