The effects of N-acylhomoserine lactones, β-lactam antibiotics and adenosine on biofilm formation in the multi-β-lactam antibiotic-resistant bacterium Acidovorax sp. strain MR-S7.

Bacteria in the natural ecosystem frequently live as adherent communities called biofilms. Some chemical compounds are known to affect biofilm formation. We investigated the effect of exogenous small molecules, N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs), β-lactam antibiotics, and adenosine, on biofilm formation in the β-lactam antibiotic-resistant bacterium Acidovorax sp. strain MR-S7. Biofilm formation was induced by the addition of various types of AHL isomers and β-lactam antibiotics, whereas the addition of adenosine strongly interfered with the biofilm formation. A gene (macP) encoding adenosine deaminase (that converts adenosine to inosine controlling intracellular adenosine concentration) was successfully cloned from MR-S7 genome and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli. The purified MacP protein clearly catalyzed the deamination of adenosine to produce inosine. A transcriptional analysis revealed that biofilm-inducing molecules, an AHL and a β-lactam antibiotic, strongly induced not only biofilm formation but also adenosine deaminase gene expression, suggesting that an elaborate gene regulation network for biofilm formation is present in the β-lactam antibiotic-resistant bacterium studied here.