Impact of Bacillus subtilis antibiotic bacilysin and Campylobacter jejuni efflux pumps on pathogen survival in mixed biofilms

Erega, Andi (author), Štefanič, Polonca (author), Danevčič, Tjaša (author), Smole Možina, Sonja (author), Mandić-Mulec, Ines (author)

The foodborne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni is typically found in an agricultural environment; in animals, such as birds, as an intestinal commensal; and also in food products, especially fresh poultry meat. Campylobacter interactions within mixed species biofilms are poorly understood, especially at the microscale. We have recently shown that the beneficial bacterium Bacillus subtilis reduces C. jejuni survival and biofilm formation in coculture by secreting the antibiotic bacillaene. We extend these studies here by providing evidence that besides bacillaene, the antagonistic effect of B. subtilis involves a nonribosomal peptide bacilysin and that the fully functional antagonism depends on the quorum-sensing transcriptional regulator ComA. Using confocal laser scanning microscopy, we also show that secreted antibiotics influence the distribution of C. jejuni and B. subtilis cells in the submerged biofilm and decrease the thickness of the pathogen’s biofilm. Furthermore, we demonstrate that genes encoding structural or regulatory proteins of the efflux apparatus system (cmeF and cmeR), respectively, contribute to the survival of C. jejuni during interaction with B. subtilis PS-216. In conclusion, this study demonstrates a strong potential of B. subtilis PS-216 to reduce C. jejuni biofilm growth, which supports the application of the PS-216 strain to pathogen biofilm control.

• Language: English
• Keywords: antibiotics, Bacillus subtilis, Campylobacter jejuni, bacillaene, bacilysin, biofilm formation, efflux pumps, secondary metabolites
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2022
• Number of pages: 14 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 10, iss. 4
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-145388
• UDC: 579.24/.26
• ISSN on article: 2165-0497
• DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02156-22
• COBISS.SI-ID: 117948419
• Publication date in RUL: 20.04.2023

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Microbiology spectrum
• Shortened title: Microbiol. spectr.
• Publisher: ASM Press
• ISSN: 2165-0497
• COBISS.SI-ID: 4526968

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: antibiotiki, bakterijske interakcije, bacilen, bacilizin, biofilm, izlivne črpalke, sekundarni metaboliti