Metabolic analysis of Moraxella catarrhalis and the effect of selected in vitro growth conditions on global gene expression

The nucleotide sequence from the genome of Moraxella catarrhalis ATCC 43617 was annotated and used both to assess the metabolic capabilities and limitations of this bacterium and to design probes for a DNA microarray. An absence of gene products for utilization of exogenous carbohydrates was noteworthy and could be correlated with published phenotypic data. Gene products necessary for aerobic energy generation were present, as were a few gene products generally ascribed to anaerobic systems. Enzymes for synthesis of all amino acids except proline and arginine were present. M. catarrhalis DNA microarrays containing 70-mer oligonucleotide probes were designed from the genome-derived nucleotide sequence data. Analysis of total RNA extracted from M. catarrhalis ATCC 43617 cells grown under iron-replete and iron-restricted conditions was used to establish the utility of these DNA microarrays. These DNA microarrays were then used to analyze total RNA from M. catarrhalis cells grown in a continuous-flow biofilm system and in the planktonic state. The genes whose expression was most dramatically increased by growth in the biofilm state included those encoding a nitrate reductase, a nitrite reductase, and a nitric oxide reductase. Real-time reverse transcriptase PCR analysis was used to validate these DNA microarray results. These results indicate that growth of M. catarrhalis in a biofilm results in increased expression of gene products which can function not only in energy generation but also in resisting certain elements of the innate immune response.