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Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) influences biofilm formation and motility in the novel Antarctic species Pseudomonas extremaustralis under cold conditions

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Abstract

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) are highly reduced bacterial storage compounds that increase fitness in changing environments. It has previously shown that polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) accumulation is essential during the growth under cold conditions. In this work, the relationship between PHB accumulation and biofilm development at low temperature was investigated. P. extremaustralis, an Antarctic strain able to accumulate PHB, and its phaC mutant, impaired in the synthesis of this polymer, were used to analyze microaerobic growth, biofilm development, EPS content and motility. PHB accumulation increased motility and survival of planktonic cells in the biofilms developed by P. extremaustralis under cold conditions. Microaerobic conditions rescued the cold growth defect of the mutant strain. The PHB accumulation capability could constitute an adaptative advantage for the colonization of new ecological niches in stressful environments.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from UBA and ANPCyT. N.I.L. is a career investigator from CONICET. P.M.T. has a graduate student fellowship from CONICET. We thank Karl G. Rueggeberg for his useful comments and language revision.

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  1. Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Intendente Güiraldes 2160, C1428EGA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Paula M. Tribelli & Nancy I. López

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  1. Paula M. Tribelli
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  2. Nancy I. López
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Correspondence to Nancy I. López.

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Communicated by A. Driessen.

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Tribelli, P.M., López, N.I. Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) influences biofilm formation and motility in the novel Antarctic species Pseudomonas extremaustralis under cold conditions. Extremophiles 15, 541 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00792-011-0384-1

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