Journal: Biofilm
Article Title: Amino acid starvation and iron limitation facilitate the biofilm formation of Klebsiella pneumoniae within urine
doi: 10.1016/j.bioflm.2026.100347
Figure Lengend Snippet: The roles of amino acid starvation regulating c-di-GMP signaling and biofilm formation during the growth of K. pneumoniae in urine. (a) RT-qPCR was performed to assess the expression levels of 10 c-di-GMP-associated genes, comprising 7 upregulated and 3 downregulated genes, as identified through RNA-Seq analysis. Each experiment was conducted in triplicate, with data normalized against the housekeeping gene gapA . Relative expression changes were determined using the 2 −ΔΔCT method. (b) Measurement of intracellular c-di-GMP levels by LC-MS/MS in K. pneumoniae cultured in the indicated media. Error bars indicate the mean ± SD from three biologically independent samples. (c) Biofilm formation quantified by OD 595 measurements after crystal violet staining of K. pneumoniae cultured in the indicated media. Data represent means ± SD of triplicate samples. (d) Images of biofilms formed by K. pneumoniae under different culture conditions. The results were analyzed as described in e. (e) Proposed model of c-di-GMP regulation of K. pneumoniae biofilm formation in response to amino acid starvation during growth in urine. Biofilm control is depicted as a multilateral coordination module within the c-di-GMP response network referred to the latest research reports [ , , , , , , , ]. Blue arrows denote activation, while red T-bar lines denote inhibition. (f) The upregulation of cellulose, type III pili (T3P), and K-capsule in K. pneumoniae under amino acid starvation in urine. RT-qPCR data were analyzed as described in a. Statistical significance was assessed using two-way ANOVA, comparing mutant strains to the wild-type strain cultured in LB medium (∗∗ P < 0.01, ∗∗∗ P < 0.001). (For interpretation of the references to color in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the Web version of this article.)
Article Snippet: Quantification was performed on an AB SCIEX QTRAP 6500+ LC-MS/MS instrument [ ], and measured nucleotide levels were expressed relative to the bacterial counts of the corresponding samples to provide normalized intracellular c-di-GMP values.
Techniques: Quantitative RT-PCR, Expressing, RNA Sequencing, Liquid Chromatography with Mass Spectroscopy, Cell Culture, Staining, Control, Activation Assay, Inhibition, Mutagenesis