@article{0e4f58308b114a8bbca9d82300ee9dd2,
title = "Bacterial glycocalyx integrity drives multicellular swarm biofilm dynamism",
abstract = "Exopolysaccharide (EPS) layers on the bacterial cell surface are key determinants of biofilm establishment and maintenance, leading to the formation of higher-order 3D structures that confer numerous survival benefits to a cell community. In addition to a specific cell-associated EPS glycocalyx, we recently revealed that the social δ-proteobacterium Myxococcus xanthus secretes a novel biosurfactant polysaccharide (BPS) to the extracellular milieu. Together, secretion of the two polymers (EPS and BPS) is required for type IV pilus (T4P)-dependent swarm expansion via spatio-specific biofilm expression profiles. Thus the synergy between EPS and BPS secretion somehow modulates the multicellular lifecycle of M. xanthus. Herein, we demonstrate that BPS secretion functionally alters the EPS glycocalyx via destabilization of the latter, fundamentally changing the characteristics of the cell surface. This impacts motility behaviors at the single-cell level and the aggregative capacity of cells in groups via cell-surface EPS fibril formation as well as T4P production, stability, and positioning. These changes modulate the structure of swarm biofilms via cell layering, likely contributing to the formation of internal swarm polysaccharide architecture. Together, these data reveal the manner by which the combined secretion of two distinct polymers induces single-cell changes that modulate swarm biofilm communities.",
keywords = "bacterial motility, biofilm structure and formation, biosurfactant polysaccharide, exopolysaccharide fibrils, intercellular interactions, type IV pilus",
author = "Fares Sa{\"i}di and Jolivet, {Nicolas Y.} and Lemon, {David J.} and Arnaldo Nakamura and Belgrave, {Akeisha M.} and Garza, {Anthony G.} and Veyrier, {Fr{\'e}d{\'e}ric J.} and Islam, {Salim T.}",
note = "Funding Information: The authors thank (i) {\'E}ric D{\'e}ziel for insightful discussions, troubleshooting regarding hydrophobicity testing, and the kind gift of rhamnolipid, (ii) Philippe Constant for valuable input on biostatistics, as well as (iii) T{\^a}m Mignot and Emilia Mauriello for providing bacterial strains, and (iv) Zhaomin Yang for the kind gift of α‐PilA antiserum. A Discovery operating grant (RGPIN‐2016‐06637) from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and a Discovery Award (2018‐1400) from the Banting Research Foundation supported this work in the lab of S.T.I. as well as studentships for F.S. and N.Y.J.; both are also recipients of graduate studentships from the PROTEO research network. This work was also supported by (i) a NSERC Discovery grant (RGPIN‐2016‐04940) to F.J.V., a Research Scholar of the Fonds de Recherche du Qu{\'e}bec – Sant{\'e}, (ii) a NSERC Research Tools and Instruments grant (RTI‐2020‐00666) to F.J.V. and S.T.I. (as well as Laurent Chatel‐Chaix, {\'E}ric D{\'e}ziel, and Denis Girard), and (iii) a Presidential Grant to A.M.B. and S.T.I. (as well as Catherine Santai) from Harrisburg University of Science & Technology. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication. The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd",
year = "2021",
month = oct,
doi = "10.1111/mmi.14803",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "116",
pages = "1151--1172",
journal = "Molecular Microbiology",
issn = "0950-382X",
publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell",
number = "4",
}