Kessel, S. P. van (2012) Genetic mapping of Bacillus subtilis biofilm formation genes. Bachelor's Thesis, Biology.
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Abstract
Biofilms are defined as bacterial cells that form populations by adherence to each other, and/or to surfaces or interfaces that are enclosed by a matrix consisting of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The composition and syntheses of biofilms are controlled by various environmental factors (e.g. growth phase and growth media) and vary between different bacterial subspecies. With scanning confocal laser microscopy it was showed that a biofilm consists of micro-colonies separated by water channels that can deliver nutrients to the inner cell population. Biofilm formation includes various intertwined genetic regulation systems (e.g. quorum sensing and sporulation) for forming a biofilm. In this thesis the genetic regulation of biofilm formation has been reviewed from the past decade. A genetic map has been evolved from this literature study, shown in figure 1. The first major regulators were found in 2001, spo0A(Spo0A) and spo0H(σH) that positively regulates the antirepressor of sinR, SinI and negatively regulates abrB(AbrB). SinR acts as a molecular switch between biofilm formation and swarming motility. SinR is also involved in a negative feedback loop with slrR and slrA that can activate TasA formation, a major protein in B. subtilis its EPS-matrix. A galactose pathway was also described to be involved in biofilm formation. Many differences between strains in B. subtilis were described in various papers when creating this genetic map, for example most laboratory strains do not have the ability to form biofilms. Indeed, this is likely to happen, however wild type B. subtilis biofilm forming strains should be used more often when we want to reveal the functions and regulations of the large quantity of genes simply because of its intertwined genetic systems that already are involved in biofilm formation.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Bachelor's Thesis) |
|---|---|
| Degree programme: | Biology |
| Thesis type: | Bachelor's Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Feb 2018 07:52 |
| Last Modified: | 15 Feb 2018 07:52 |
| URI: | https://fse.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/10794 |
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