Bacterial biofilms are a complex architecture of cells that grow on moist interfaces, and are held together by a molecular glue of extracellular proteins, sugars and nucleic acids. Biofilms are particularly problematic in human healthcare as they can coat medical implants and are thus a potential source of disease. The enzymatic dispersal of biofilms is increasingly being developed as a new strategy to treat this problem. Here, we have characterized NucB, a biofilm-dispersing nuclease from a marine strain of Bacillus licheniformis, and present its crystal structure together with the biochemistry and a mutational analysis required to confirm its active site. Taken together, these data support the categorization of NucB into a unique subfamily of the ββα metal-dependent non-specific endonucleases. Understanding the structure and function of NucB will facilitate its future development into an anti-biofilm therapeutic agent.

中文翻译：

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NucB 的晶体结构，一种生物膜降解核酸内切酶

细菌生物膜是一种复杂的细胞结构，生长在潮湿的界面上，由细胞外蛋白质、糖和核酸的分子胶粘在一起。生物膜在人类保健中尤其成问题，因为它们可以覆盖医疗植入物，因此是潜在的疾病来源。生物膜的酶促分散越来越多地被开发为治疗该问题的新策略。在这里，我们对 NucB 进行了表征，这是一种来自地衣芽孢杆菌海洋菌株的生物膜分散核酸酶, 并展示其晶体结构以及确认其活性位点所需的生物化学和突变分析。总之，这些数据支持将 NucB 分类为 ββα 金属依赖性非特异性核酸内切酶的一个独特亚家族。了解 NucB 的结构和功能将有助于其未来发展成为抗生物膜治疗剂。