Domains of BclA, the major surface glycoprotein of the B. cereus exosporium: glycosylation patterns and role in spore surface properties

The role of the BclA domains of B. cereus ATCC 14579 was investigated in order to understand the phenomena involved in the interfacial processes occurring between spores and inert surfaces. This was done by (i) creating deletions in the collagen-like region (CLR) and the C-terminal domain (CTD) of BclA, (ii) building BclA proteins with various lengths in the CLR and (iii) modifying the hydrophobic upper surface in the CTD. First, it was demonstrated that the CLR was substituted by three residues already reported in the CLR of B. anthracis, viz. rhamnose, 3-O-methyl-rhamnose, and GalNH(2) residues, while the CTD was also substituted by two additional glycosyl residues, viz. 2-O-methyl-rhamnose and 2,4-O-methyl-rhamnose. Regarding the properties of the spores, both CLR and CTD contributed to the adhesion of the spores, which was estimated by measuring the resistance to detachment of spores adhered to stainless steel plates). CLR and CTD also impacted the hydrophobic character and isoelectric point of the spores. It was then shown that the resistance to detachment of the spores was not affected by the physicochemical properties, but by the CLR length and the presence of hydrophobic amino acids on the CTD.