The XXXX biofilm matrix contains DNA, and an endogenous nuclease controls its incorporation.

@entity1 @entity73153 @entity6368 @entity526
@entity6368 has been shown to produce biofilms both in experimental flow chambers and in the @entity1 host. Our laboratory has shown that extracellular DNA is an essential component of the gonococcal matrix. We have also identified a gene in @entity6368 , which we designated @entity73153 . This gene has homology with the staphylococcus-secreted thermonuclease. Our laboratory has characterized @entity73153 through phenotypic analysis of a @entity73153 deletion mutant. Biofilms grown with this strain are significantly thicker and of greater biomass than the @entity6368 1291 parent strain. Confocal microscopy indicates that the increased size of the mutant biofilms appears to be due to elevated amounts of extracellular DNA in the biofilm matrix. Chromosomal complementation of the @entity73153 mutation restored the wild-type biofilm phenotype. In addition, we have cloned and expressed the @entity73153 protein in @entity526 , and our data indicate that it has the ability to digest multiple forms of DNA and is a thermonuclease. The ability of @entity73153 to digest DNA also extends to its ability to disrupt established gonococcal biofilms through degradation of the DNA in the biofilm matrix. Our studies indicate that the @entity6368 biofilm contains DNA and that the @entity73153 protein appears to play a role in biofilm formation and remodeling.
