The DUF1127 containing protein and ProQ had opposite effects on biofilm formation in Vibrio alginolyticus

Abstract

RNA binding protein plays an important role in gene regulation on post transcription level. In this study, functions of the DUF1127containing protein and ProQ, which were considered as RNA binding proteins, were revealed in Vibrio alginolyticus. The results showed that an increase ability of biofilm formation was observed by DUF1127 deletion, while ProQ deletion resulted in a less amount of biofilm detected. Moreover, the extracellular proteinase secreted was significantly reduced in DUF1127 deletion strain and ProQ can help the cell to defense oxidative stress. The data of RNA-seq showed the expressions of genes involved in the secretion of extracellular proteases were significantly downregulated and also the genes related to the synthesis of biofilm, such as rbsB, alsS, exhibited differential expression in DUF1127 deletion strain. The expressions of genes involved in biofilm synthesis (flgC, flgE), virulence (betB, hutG), and oxidative stress were affected by ProQ. Moreover, various regulators, such as LysR, BetI, whose mRNA level were affected by the DUF1127 protein and ProQ. Overall, our study showed that the DUF1127 protein and ProQ had important functions in biofilm formation in Vibrio alginolyticus.