Abstract
DNA is the genetic code found inside all living cells and its molecular stability can also be utilized outside the cell. While extracellular DNA (eDNA) has been identified as a structural polymer in bacterial biofilms, whether it persists stably throughout development remains unclear. Here, we report that eDNA is temporarily invested in the biofilm matrix before being reclaimed later in development. Specifically, by imaging eDNA dynamics within undomesticated Bacillus subtilis biofilms, we found eDNA is produced during biofilm establishment before being globally degraded in a spatiotemporally coordinated pulse. We identified YhcR, a secreted Ca2+-dependent nuclease, as responsible for eDNA degradation in pellicle biofilms. YhcR cooperates with two other nucleases, NucA and NucB, to reclaim eDNA for its phosphate content in colony biofilms. Our results identify extracellular nucleases that are crucial for eDNA reclamation during biofilm development and we therefore propose a new role for eDNA as a dynamic metabolic reservoir.
Original language | English (US) |
---|---|
Article number | 103 |
Journal | npj Biofilms and Microbiomes |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2024 |
Funding
Proteomics services were performed by the Northwestern Proteomics Core Facility, generously supported by NCI CCSG P30 CA060553 awarded to the Robert H Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, instrumentation award (S10OD025194) from NIH Office of Director, and the National Resource for Translational and Developmental Proteomics supported by P41 GM108569. This work was also supported by the Northwestern University NUSeq Core. The authors apologize to our many colleagues whose work we could not include due to space constraints. We are grateful for generous support from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (1015883.01), the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (2018-68055), the Army Research Office (W911NF-19-1-0136), Pew Charitable Trusts (2019-A-06953), the National Science Foundation (NSF 2239567), National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (1R35GM147170-01), National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health (F31GM143907), and the Biotechnology Training Program at Northwestern University. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biotechnology
- Microbiology
- Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology