Autotransporters Drive Biofilm Formation and Autoaggregation in the Diderm Firmicute Veillonella parvula
Nathalie Béchon, Alicia Jiménez‐Fernández, Jerzy Witwinowski, Emilie Bierque, Najwa Taïb, Thomas Cokelaer, Laurence Ma, Jean‐Marc Ghigo, Simonetta Gribaldo, Christophe Beloin
Abstract
Veillonella parvula is an anaerobic commensal and opportunistic pathogen whose ability to adhere to surfaces or other bacteria and form biofilms is critical for it to inhabit complex human microbial communities such as the gut and oral microbiota. Although the adhesive capacity of V. parvula has been previously described, very little is known about the underlying molecular mechanisms due to a lack of genetically amenable Veillonella strains. In this study, we took advantage of a naturally transformable V. parvula isolate and newly adapted genetic tools to identify surface-exposed adhesins called autotransporters as the main molecular determinants of adhesion in this bacterium. This work therefore provides new insights on an important aspect of the V. parvula lifestyle, opening new possibilities for mechanistic studies of the contribution of biofilm formation to the biology of this major commensal of the oral-digestive tract.