Scientific Reports (May 2018)

Novel antibiofilm chemotherapies target nitrogen from glutamate and glutamine

  • Tal Hassanov,
  • Iris Karunker,
  • Nitai Steinberg,
  • Ayelet Erez,
  • Ilana Kolodkin-Gal

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-25401-z
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 12

Abstract

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Abstract Bacteria in nature often reside in differentiated communities termed biofilms, which are an active interphase between uni-cellular and multicellular life states for bacteria. Here we demonstrate that the development of B. subtilis biofilms is dependent on the use of glutamine or glutamate as a nitrogen source. We show a differential metabolic requirement within the biofilm; while glutamine is necessary for the dividing cells at the edges, the inner cell mass utilizes lactic acid. Our results indicate that biofilm cells preserve a short-term memory of glutamate metabolism. Finally, we establish that drugs that target glutamine and glutamate utilization restrict biofilm development. Overall, our work reveals a spatial regulation of nitrogen and carbon metabolism within the biofilm, which contributes to the fitness of bacterial complex communities. This acquired metabolic division of labor within biofilm can serve as a target for novel anti-biofilm chemotherapies