Bacterial Cyclic AMP-Phosphodiesterase Activity Coordinates Biofilm Formation

Biofilm-related infections are a major contributor to human disease, and the capacity for surface attachment and biofilm formation are key attributes for the pathogenesis of microbes. Serratia marcescens type I fimbriae-dependent biofilms are coordinated by the adenylate cyclase, CyaA, and the cyclic 3′,5′-adenosine monophosphate (cAMP)-cAMP receptor protein (CRP) complex. This study uses S. marcescens as a model system to test the role of cAMP-phosphodiesterase activity in controlling biofilm formation. Herein we describe the characterization of a putative S. marcescens cAMP-phosphodiesterase gene (SMA3506), designated as cpdS, and demonstrated to be a functional cAMP-phosphodiesterase both in vitro and in vivo. Deletion of cpdS resulted in defective biofilm formation and reduced type I fimbriae production, whereas multicopy expression of cpdS conferred a type I fimbriae-dependent hyper-biofilm. Together, these results support a model in which bacterial cAMP-phosphodiesterase activity modulates biofilm formation.