Campylobacter jejuni biofilms contain extracellular DNA and are sensitive to DNase I treatment

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Author
Brown, Helen Louise
Hanman, Kate
Reuter, Mark
Betts, Roy
Van Vliet, Arnoud
Date
2015-07-10Acceptance date
2015-06-26
Type
Article
Publisher
Frontiers Media
ISSN
1664-302X
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Biofilms make an important contribution to survival and transmission of bacterial pathogens in the food chain. The human pathogen Campylobacter jejuni is known to form biofilms in vitro in food chain-relevant conditions, but the exact roles and composition of the extracellular matrix are still not clear. Extracellular DNA has been found in many bacterial biofilms and can be a major component of the extracellular matrix. Here we show that extracellular DNA is also an important component of the C. jejuni biofilm when attached to stainless steel surfaces, in aerobic conditions and on conditioned surfaces. Degradation of extracellular DNA by exogenous addition of DNase I led to rapid biofilm removal, without loss of C. jejuni viability. Following treatment of a surface with DNase I, C. jejuni was unable to re-establish a biofilm population within 48 h. Similar results were obtained by digesting extracellular DNA with restriction enzymes, suggesting the need for high molecular weight DNA. Addition of C. jejuni genomic DNA containing an antibiotic resistance marker resulted in transfer of the antibiotic resistance marker to susceptible cells in the biofilm, presumably by natural transformation. Taken together, this suggest that eDNA is not only an important component of C. jejuni biofilms and subsequent food chain survival of C. jejuni, but may also contribute to the spread of antimicrobial resistance in C. jejuni. The degradation of extracellular DNA with enzymes such as DNase I is a rapid method to remove C. jejuni biofilms, and is likely to potentiate the activity of antimicrobial treatments and thus synergistically aid disinfection treatments.
Journal/conference proceeding
Frontiers in Microbiology;
Citation
Brown, H.L., Hanman, K., Reuter, M., Betts, R.P. and Van Vliet, A.H. (2015) 'Campylobacter jejuni biofilms contain extracellular DNA and are sensitive to DNase I treatment', Frontiers in Microbiology, 6, p.699. DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.00699.
Description
Article published in Frontiers in Microbiology on 10 July 2015, available open access at: https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2015.00699.
Sponsorship
Cardiff Metropolitan University (Grant ID: Cardiff Metropolian (Internal))
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