CsrA-Controlled Proteins Reveal New Dimensions of Acinetobacter baumannii Desiccation Tolerance
Yasuhiro Oda, Madelyn M. Shapiro, Nathan M. Lewis, Xuefei Zhong, Holly Huse, Weizhi Zhong, James E. Bruce, Colin Manoil, Caroline S. Harwood
Abstract
Acinetobacter baumannii is found in terrestrial environments but can cause nosocomial infections in very sick patients. A factor that contributes to the prevalence of A. baumannii in hospital settings is that it is intrinsically resistant to dry conditions. Here, we established the virulent strain A. baumannii AB5075 as a model for studies of desiccation tolerance at very low relative humidity. Our results show that this trait depends on two proteins of unknown function, one of which is predicted to be an intrinsically disordered protein. This category of protein is critical for the small animals named tardigrades to survive desiccation. Our results suggest that A. baumannii may have novel strategies to survive desiccation that have not previously been seen in bacteria.