Context-Specific Requirement of Forty-Four Two-Component Loci in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Swarming
Ameen M. Kollaran,
Shubham Joge,
Harshitha S. Kotian,
Divakar Badal,
Deep Prakash,
Ayushi Mishra,
Manoj Varma,
Varsha Singh
Affiliations
Ameen M. Kollaran
Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India
Shubham Joge
Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India
Harshitha S. Kotian
Centre for Nano Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India
Divakar Badal
Biosystems Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India
Deep Prakash
Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India
Ayushi Mishra
Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India
Manoj Varma
Centre for Nano Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India; Robert Bosch Centre for Cyber Physical Systems, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India
Varsha Singh
Department of Molecular Reproduction, Development and Genetics, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India; Biosystems Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, Karnataka 560012, India; Corresponding author
Summary: Swarming in Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a coordinated movement of bacteria over semisolid surfaces (0.5%–0.7% agar). On soft agar, P. aeruginosa exhibits a dendritic swarm pattern, with multiple levels of branching. However, the swarm patterns typically vary depending upon the experimental design. In the present study, we show that the pattern characteristics of P. aeruginosa swarm are highly environment dependent. We define several quantifiable, macroscale features of the swarm to study the plasticity of the swarm, observed across different nutrient formulations. Furthermore, through a targeted screen of 113 two-component system (TCS) loci of the P. aeruginosa strain PA14, we show that forty-four TCS genes regulate swarming in PA14 in a contextual fashion. However, only four TCS genes—fleR, fleS, gacS, and PA14_59770—were found essential for swarming. Notably, many swarming-defective TCS mutants were found highly efficient in biofilm formation, indicating opposing roles for many TCS loci. : Pathogenic Organism; Biological Sciences; Microbiology Subject Areas: Pathogenic Organism, Biological Sciences, Microbiology