A different path: Revealing the function of staphylococcal proteins in biofilm formation

• Models of synthesis of biofilm-forming poly-N-acetylglucosmine (PNAG) differ between bacteria.
• Sequence comparison results in a more unified model.
• A potential new enzyme catalysing O-succinylation in staphylococci is identified.

Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis cause dangerous and difficult to treat medical device-related infections through their ability to form biofilms. Extracellular poly-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG) facilitates biofilm formation and is a vaccination target, yet details of its biosynthesis by the icaADBC gene products is limited. IcaC is the proposed transporter for PNAG export, however a comparison of the Ica proteins to homologous exo-polysaccharide synthases suggests that the common IcaAD protein components both synthesise and transport the PNAG. The limited distribution of icaC to the Staphylococcaceae and its membership of a family of membrane-bound acyltransferases, leads us to suggest that IcaC is responsible for the known O-succinylation of PNAG that occurs in staphylococci, identifying a potentially new therapeutic target specific for these bacteria.