Cyclic di-GMP: a second messenger required for long-term survival, but not for biofilm formation, in Mycobacterium smegmatis.

The article presents a study which analyses the presence of cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) in Mycobacterium smegmatis, and its physiological role in the long-term survival of the organism. It notes that c-di-GMP plays an important role in biofilm formation and adaptation in several bacterial species which enable such organisms survive in changing environments. With bioinformatics analysis, it was found out that Mycobacterium smegmatis has a bifunctional single protein with GGDEF and EAL domains, having both the diguanylate cyclase (DGC) and phosphodiesterase (PDE)-A activities. It also found out that the identified bifunctional protein did not affect growth and biofilm formation of the mycobacterium, however, long-term survival under conditions of nutritional starvation was affected.