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Infection and Immunity, October 1999, p. 5427-5433, Vol. 67, No. 10
Mikrobielle Genetik, Universität
Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen,
Germany,1 and ZENECA
Pharmaceuticals, Macclesfield, Cheshire SK10 4TG,
England2
Received 15 March 1999/Returned for modification 12 May
1999/Accepted 13 July 1999
Nosocomial infections that result in the formation of biofilms on
the surfaces of biomedical implants are a leading cause of sepsis and
are often associated with colonization of the implants by
Staphylococcus epidermidis. Biofilm formation is thought to require two sequential steps: adhesion of cells to a solid substrate followed by cell-cell adhesion, creating multiple layers of cells. Intercellular adhesion requires the polysaccharide intercellular adhesin (PIA), which is composed of linear
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Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
The Intercellular Adhesion (ica) Locus
Is Present in Staphylococcus aureus and Is Required for
Biofilm Formation
-1,6-linked
glucosaminylglycans and can be synthesized in vitro from
UDP-N-acetylglucosamine by products of the intercellular
adhesion (ica) locus. We have investigated a variety of
Staphylococcus aureus strains and find that all strains tested contain the ica locus and that several can form
biofilms in vitro. Sequence comparison with the S. epidermidis
ica genes revealed 59 to 78% amino acid identity. Deletion of
the ica locus results in a loss of the ability to form
biofilms, produce PIA, or mediate
N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase activity in vitro. Cross-species hybridization experiments revealed the presence of
icaA in several other Staphylococcus species,
suggesting that cell-cell adhesion and the potential to form biofilms
is conserved within this genus.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Mikrobielle
Genetik, Waldhäuser Strasse 70/8, Universität
Tübingen, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany. Phone: 49 7071 297 4636. Fax: 49 7071 29 5937. E-mail: friedrich.goetz{at}uni-tuebingen.de.
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