RT Journal Article
T1 Insight into the composition of the intercellular matrix of Streptococcus pneumoniae biofilms
A1 Domenech Lucas, Miriam
A1 García, Ernesto
A1 Prieto, Alicia
A1 Moscoso, Miriam
AB Biofilm matrices consist of a mixture of extracellular polymeric substances synthesized in large part by the biofilm-producing microorganisms themselves. These matrices are responsible for the cohesion and three-dimensional architecture of biofilms. The present study demonstrates the existence of a matrix composed of extracellular DNA, proteins and polysaccharides in the biofilm formed by the human pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae. Extracellular DNA, visualized by fluorescent labelling, was an important component of this matrix. The existence of DNA–protein complexes associated with bacterial aggregates and other polymers was hypothesized based on the unexpected DNA binding activity of lysozyme LytC, a novel moonlighting protein. Actually, a 25-amino-acid-long peptide derived from LytC (positions 408 and 432 of the mature LytC) was also capable of efficiently binding to DNA. Moreover, the presence of intercellular DNA–LytC protein complexes in pneumococcal biofilms was demonstrated by confocal laser scanning microscopy. Evidence of extracellular polysaccharide different from the capsule was obtained by staining with Calcofluor dye and four types of lectin conjugated to Alexa fluorophores, and by incubation with glycoside hydrolases. The presence of residues of Glcp(1→4) and GlcNAc(1→4) (in its deacetylated form) in the pneumococcal biofilm was confirmed by GC-MS techniques.
PB Wiley
SN 1462-2912
YR 2012
FD 2012
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/97676
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/97676
LA eng
NO Domenech, Mirian, et al. «Insight into the Composition of the Intercellular Matrix of Streptococcus Pneumoniae Biofilms». Environmental Microbiology, vol. 15, n.o 2, febrero de 2013, pp. 502-16. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2012.02853.x
NO Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (España)
NO Instituto de Salud Carlos III 
DS Docta Complutense
RD 8 abr 2025