Mycobacterium smegmatis biofilm formation and sliding motility are affected by the serine/threonine protein kinase PknF

Eighteen 'eukaryotic-like' serine/threonine kinases are present in the Mycobacterium smegmatis genome. One of them encoded by the ORF 3677 demonstrates high similarity to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis protein kinase PknF. A merodiploid strain was generated, which showed reduced growth associated with irregular cell structure. The merodiploid strain displayed altered colony morphology, defective sliding motility and biofilm formation. These data indicate a role for PknF in biofilm formation, possibly associated with alterations in glycopeptidolipid composition.