DT News - UK - New research aims to stop biofilm from forming

Dental Tribune International

Tue. 30 April 2013

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NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE – Biofilms are increasingly recognised as an important issue in dental and health care, as they can cause dental plaque, sinusitis and serious infections, particularly on medical implants. Now, scientists have determined how a molecular switch regulates the formation of biofilm. The new insight could help identify a target for antibiotics and help prevent the formation of biofilm in the future.

In order to obtain a deeper understanding of the complex mechanisms underpinning biofilm formation, researchers from Newcastle University’s Institute for Cell and Molecular Biosciences investigated how Bacillus subtilis, a bacterium widely used as a model organism for laboratory studies, forms a biofilm.

Using X-ray crystallography, the researchers found that the DNA-binding protein SinR acts as a master regulator of biofilm formation in the bacterium. SinR determined whether B. subtilis switches from a free-living, planktonic lifestyle to form a biofilm by inhibiting the expression of proteins required for the synthesis of the molecular glue that holds the biofilm together, they explained.

In addition, a structural analysis of the proteins involved in this process enabled the scientists to determine how SinR activity can be controlled by its interaction with its antagonists. With these findings, the researchers hope to develop effective intervention strategies to stop biofilms from growing.

The study, titled “Molecular basis of activity of SinR protein, the master regulator of biofilm formation in Bacillus subtilis”, was published in the April issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

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