Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Applied and Environmental Microbiology logoLink to Applied and Environmental Microbiology
. 1994 Feb;60(2):740–745. doi: 10.1128/aem.60.2.740-745.1994

A Role for Exopolysaccharides in the Protection of Microorganisms from Desiccation

Tslil Ophir 1, David L Gutnick 1,*
PMCID: PMC201377  PMID: 16349202

Abstract

Mucoid strains of Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter calcoaceticus, and Erwinia stewartii were significantly more resistant to desiccation than corresponding isogenic nonmucoid mutants (survival rates of up to 35% in mucoid strains and between 0.7 and 5% in nonmucoid variants), even in colonies containing both cell types. Desiccation was found to bring about an induction of β-galactosidase in Lon- strains of E. coli K-12 carrying transcriptional lac fusions in the capsule biosynthetic (cps) regulon. This induction was dependent on the transcriptional activators RcsA and RcsB. Induction was lower in cells carrying mutations in the membrane sensor protein RcsC.

Full text

PDF
740

Images in this article

743Image
on p.743
743Image
on p.743

Selected References

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

  1. Brill J. A., Quinlan-Walshe C., Gottesman S. Fine-structure mapping and identification of two regulators of capsule synthesis in Escherichia coli K-12. J Bacteriol. 1988 Jun;170(6):2599–2611. doi: 10.1128/jb.170.6.2599-2611.1988. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Coplin D. L., Rowan R. G., Chisholm D. A., Whitmoyer R. E. Characterization of plasmids in Erwinia stewartii. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1981 Oct;42(4):599–604. doi: 10.1128/aem.42.4.599-604.1981. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Gervais F. G., Drapeau G. R. Identification, cloning, and characterization of rcsF, a new regulator gene for exopolysaccharide synthesis that suppresses the division mutation ftsZ84 in Escherichia coli K-12. J Bacteriol. 1992 Dec;174(24):8016–8022. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.24.8016-8022.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Gottesman S. Genetics of proteolysis in Escherichia coli*. Annu Rev Genet. 1989;23:163–198. doi: 10.1146/annurev.ge.23.120189.001115. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Gottesman S., Stout V. Regulation of capsular polysaccharide synthesis in Escherichia coli K12. Mol Microbiol. 1991 Jul;5(7):1599–1606. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2958.1991.tb01906.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gottesman S., Trisler P., Torres-Cabassa A. Regulation of capsular polysaccharide synthesis in Escherichia coli K-12: characterization of three regulatory genes. J Bacteriol. 1985 Jun;162(3):1111–1119. doi: 10.1128/jb.162.3.1111-1119.1985. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Juni E., Janik A. Transformation of Acinetobacter calco-aceticus (Bacterium anitratum). J Bacteriol. 1969 Apr;98(1):281–288. doi: 10.1128/jb.98.1.281-288.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Leigh J. A., Coplin D. L. Exopolysaccharides in plant-bacterial interactions. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1992;46:307–346. doi: 10.1146/annurev.mi.46.100192.001515. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lopez-Lara I. M., Orgambide G., Dazzo F. B., Olivares J., Toro N. Characterization and symbiotic importance of acidic extracellular polysaccharides of Rhizobium sp. strain GRH2 isolated from acacia nodules. J Bacteriol. 1993 May;175(10):2826–2832. doi: 10.1128/jb.175.10.2826-2832.1993. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Parker C. T., Kloser A. W., Schnaitman C. A., Stein M. A., Gottesman S., Gibson B. W. Role of the rfaG and rfaP genes in determining the lipopolysaccharide core structure and cell surface properties of Escherichia coli K-12. J Bacteriol. 1992 Apr;174(8):2525–2538. doi: 10.1128/jb.174.8.2525-2538.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Roberson E. B., Firestone M. K. Relationship between Desiccation and Exopolysaccharide Production in a Soil Pseudomonas sp. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1992 Apr;58(4):1284–1291. doi: 10.1128/aem.58.4.1284-1291.1992. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Shabtai Y., Gutnick D. L. Enhanced emulsan production in mutants of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus RAG-1 selected for resistance to cetyltrimethylammonium bromide. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1986 Jul;52(1):146–151. doi: 10.1128/aem.52.1.146-151.1986. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Stout V., Gottesman S. RcsB and RcsC: a two-component regulator of capsule synthesis in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1990 Feb;172(2):659–669. doi: 10.1128/jb.172.2.659-669.1990. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Stout V., Torres-Cabassa A., Maurizi M. R., Gutnick D., Gottesman S. RcsA, an unstable positive regulator of capsular polysaccharide synthesis. J Bacteriol. 1991 Mar;173(5):1738–1747. doi: 10.1128/jb.173.5.1738-1747.1991. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Trempy J. E., Gottesman S. Alp, a suppressor of lon protease mutants in Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol. 1989 Jun;171(6):3348–3353. doi: 10.1128/jb.171.6.3348-3353.1989. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

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

RESOURCES