The streptococcal collagen-like protein-1 (Scl1) is a significant determinant for biofilm formation by group a Streptococcus

Authors

Heaven A. Oliver-Kozup, West Virginia University
Meenal Elliott, West Virginia University
Beth A. Bachert, West Virginia University
Karen H. Martin, West Virginia University
Sean D. Reid, Wake Forest University
Diane E. Schwegler-Berry, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
Brett J. Green, National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
Slawomir Lukomski, West Virginia University

Author ORCID Identifier

N/A

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7996-3592

https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3073-6923

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8916-4092

N/A

N/A

N/A

https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5159-1838

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2011

College/Unit

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department/Program/Center

Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology

Abstract

Background

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is a human-specific pathogen responsible for a number of diseases characterized by a wide range of clinical manifestations. During host colonization GAS-cell aggregates or microcolonies are observed in tissues. GAS biofilm, which is an in vitro equivalent of tissue microcolony, has only recently been studied and little is known about the specific surface determinants that aid biofilm formation. In this study, we demonstrate that surface-associated streptococcal collagen-like protein-1 (Scl1) plays an important role in GAS biofilm formation.

Results

Biofilm formation by M1-, M3-, M28-, and M41-type GAS strains, representing an intraspecies breadth, were analyzed spectrophotometrically following crystal violet staining, and characterized using confocal and field emission scanning electron microscopy. The M41-type strain formed the most robust biofilm under static conditions, followed by M28- and M1-type strains, while the M3-type strains analyzed here did not form biofilm under the same experimental conditions. Differences in architecture and cell-surface morphology were observed in biofilms formed by the M1- and M41-wild-type strains, accompanied by varying amounts of deposited extracellular matrix and differences in cell-to-cell junctions within each biofilm. Importantly, all Scl1-negative mutants examined showed significantly decreased ability to form biofilm in vitro. Furthermore, the Scl1 protein expressed on the surface of a heterologous host, Lactococcus lactis, was sufficient to induce biofilm formation by this organism.

Conclusions

Overall, this work (i) identifies variations in biofilm formation capacity among pathogenically different GAS strains, (ii) identifies GAS surface properties that may aid in biofilm stability and, (iii) establishes that the Scl1 surface protein is an important determinant of GAS biofilm, which is sufficient to enable biofilm formation in the heterologous host Lactococcus. In summary, the GAS surface adhesin Scl1 may have an important role in biofilm-associated pathogenicity.

Digital Commons Citation

Oliver-Kozup, Heaven A.; Elliott, Meenal; Bachert, Beth A.; Martin, Karen H.; Reid, Sean D.; Schwegler-Berry, Diane E.; Green, Brett J.; and Lukomski, Slawomir, "The streptococcal collagen-like protein-1 (Scl1) is a significant determinant for biofilm formation by group a Streptococcus" (2011). Faculty & Staff Scholarship. 2703.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/faculty_publications/2703

Source Citation

Oliver-Kozup, H.A., Elliott, M., Bachert, B.A. et al. The streptococcal collagen-like protein-1 (Scl1) is a significant determinant for biofilm formation by group a Streptococcus. BMC Microbiol 11, 262 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2180-11-262

Comments

© 2011 Oliver-Kozup et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.