Appendage-mediated surface adherence in Sulfolobus solfataricus

Abstract

Attachment of microorganisms to surfaces is a prerequisite for colonization and biofilm formation. The hyperthermophilic crenarchaeote Sulfolobus solfataricus was able to attach to a variety of surfaces such as glass, mica, pyrite and carboncoated gold grids. Deletion mutant analysis showed that for initial attachment the presence of flagella and pili is essential. Attached cells produced extracellular polysaccharides containing mannose, galactose and N-acetylglucosamine. Genes possibly involved in the production of the extracellular polysaccharides were identified