Cyclic di-GMP as an Antitoxin Regulates Bacterial Genome Stability and Antibiotic Persistence in Biofilms.

A recent preprint abstract discusses the role of cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) as an antitoxin in regulating bacterial genome stability and antibiotic persistence in biofilms. Biofilms are bacterial communities that can cause chronic and relapsing infections, and the formation of persister cells within biofilms has been linked to their dense structures. However, the study found that persister frequency actually increases during the stage of cell adhesion, which marks the onset of biofilm development. The researchers identified a toxin-antitoxin (TA) module triggered by cell adhesion, where the toxin HipH induces DNA double strand breaks and genome instability, while c-di-GMP acts as the antitoxin, controlling HipH expression and activity. This unique TA system involving small molecules as antitoxins could have implications for treating biofilm infections. Please note that this preprint has not been peer-reviewed. [Extracted from the article]