MICROBIOLOGY
By Michael Y. Galperin1 and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to to detergents and enzymes that do not af-
Daria N. Shalaeva2, 3 detect and study the pEtN modification in fect standard cellulose fibers but that might
vivo. They also showed that the pEtN group be active on pEtN-modified cellulose. Thus,
C
ellulose, a linear polymer of glucose comes from the cell membrane lipid phos- the goal of preventing infection by disrupting
residues, is the main component of phatidylethanolamine and identified BcsG, a such biofilms might be within closer reach.
plant cell walls and the most abundant subunit of the cellulose synthase complex, as The work by Thongsomboon et al. should
biomolecule on the planet. Cellulose fi- the pEtN transferase responsible for catalyz- also help with understanding the exact
bers from wood, cotton, and linen are ing the pEtN modification. role of the cellulose-containing biofilm as
mostly used as such, but can also be Microbiologists might be most interested a virulence factor. Curiously, some of the
chemically modified to make rayon, viscose, in the wide phylogenetic distribution of the worst disease-causing strains of E. coli and
and other textiles. Many bacteria also syn- pEtN modification. In addition to E. coli and Shigella do not produce biofilms in acute
thesize cellulose. Cellulose fibers produced Salmonella, BcsG is encoded in cellulose syn- infections (4, 8). It appears that the ability
trometry and several versions of solid-state fied cellulose forms a more compact biofilm tion at several different levels. This multilevel
mesh that is more resistant to shear forces. regulation of important life-cycle decisions,
1
National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library However, the presence of the pEtN group such as biofilm formation, has been dubbed
of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20894, probably makes the cellulose fibers less rigid “sustained sensing” (13). It appears to be
USA. 2School of Bioengineering and Bioinformatics, Moscow and less inert than those consisting of pure common in the microbial world but is diffi-
State University, Moscow 119992, Russia. 3School of Physics,
University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück D-49069, Germany. cellulose. This warrants reexamination of the cult to disentangle without a detailed analy-
Email: galperin@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; dshalaeva@uos.de sensitivity of E. coli and Salmonella biofilms sis of regulatory interactions.
Published by AAAS
Finally, the work by Thongsomboon et al. MICROBIOLOGY
will benefit efforts to find new applications
for bacterially synthesized cellulose and
develop new cellulose-based compounds.
Gluconacetobacter-produced cellulose mi-
Taking down defenses
crofibers and crystals, commonly referred
to as nanocellulose, have numerous appli- to improve vaccines
cations (2). The apparent biocompatibil-
ity—lack of toxicity, immunogenicity, and A new approach to generating influenza virus
proinflammatory response—of unmodified vaccines could improve responses
cellulose makes it an attractive choice for a
variety of biomedical applications, such as
drug delivery, wound dressing, replacement By John R. Teijaro1 and Dennis R. Burton1,2 to inhibiting viral replication, IFN-I sig-
of blood vessels, and tissue engineering of naling also promotes the optimal induc-
V
bone and cartilage (2, 3). Thus, pEtN-modi- accines have been spectacularly suc- tion of both the innate and adaptive arms
fied cellulose would have to undergo rigor- cessful in durable protection against of the immune response. To counteract a
ous biocompatibility testing. Nevertheless, a range of pathogens. However, they potent IFN-I response, many viruses en-
the availability of genetic tools to manipu- have been less successful against code proteins that inhibit IFN-I production
late E. coli opens numerous possibilities for pathogens that have evolved immune and/or signaling, highlighting the evolu-
using cellulose synthase genes for synthetic escape mechanisms (1). For example, tionary importance of host IFN-I signaling
RELATED http://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/359/6373/334.full
CONTENT
REFERENCES This article cites 15 articles, 5 of which you can access for free
http://science.sciencemag.org/content/359/6373/276#BIBL
PERMISSIONS http://www.sciencemag.org/help/reprints-and-permissions
Science (print ISSN 0036-8075; online ISSN 1095-9203) is published by the American Association for the Advancement of
Science, 1200 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005. 2017 © The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive
licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. The title
Science is a registered trademark of AAAS.