DNA is a component of biofilms, but the triggers of DNA release during biofilm formation and how DNA contributes to biofilm development are poorly investigated. One key mechanism involved in DNA release is explosive cell lysis, which is a consequence of prophage induction. In this article, the role of explosive cell lysis in biofilm formation was investigated in the opportunistic human pathogen Burkholderia cenocepacia H111 (H111). Biofilm streamers, flow-suspended biofilm filaments, were used as a biofilm model in this study, as DNA is an essential component of their matrix. H111 contains three prophages on chromosome 1 of its genome, and the involvement of each prophage in causing explosive cell lysis of the host and subsequent DNA and membrane vesicle (MV) release, as well as their contribution to streamer formation, were studied in the presence and absence of genotoxic stress. The results show that two of the three prophages of H111 encode functional lytic prophages that can be induced by genotoxic stress and their activation causes DNA and MVs release by explosive cell lysis. Furthermore, it is shown that the released DNA enables the strain to develop biofilm streamers, and streamer formation can be enhanced by genotoxic stress. Overall, this study demonstrates the involvement of prophages in streamer formation and uncovers an often-overlooked problem with the use of antibiotics that trigger the bacterial SOS response for the treatment of bacterial infections.

DNA 是生物膜的组成部分，但在生物膜形成过程中 DNA 释放的触发因素以及 DNA 如何促进生物膜形成的研究却很少。DNA 释放涉及的一个关键机制是爆炸性细胞裂解，这是原噬菌体诱导的结果。在本文中，研究了机会性人类病原体新洋葱伯克霍尔德杆菌H111 (H111) 中爆炸性细胞裂解在生物膜形成中的作用。生物膜飘带（流动悬浮的生物膜丝）在本研究中被用作生物膜模型，因为 DNA 是其基质的重要组成部分。H111 在其基因组的第 1 号染色体上含有三个原噬菌体，并且在存在的情况下研究了每个原噬菌体参与引起宿主爆炸性细胞裂解和随后的 DNA 和膜囊泡 (MV) 释放，以及它们对流带形成的贡献。以及不存在遗传毒性应激。结果表明，H111 的三个前噬菌体中的两个编码可被基因毒性应激诱导的功能性裂解性前噬菌体，它们的激活导致爆炸性细胞裂解释放 DNA 和 MV。此外，研究表明，释放的 DNA 使菌株能够形成生物膜飘带，而基因毒性应激可以增强生物膜飘带的形成。总体而言，这项研究证明了前噬菌体参与流带形成，并揭示了使用抗生素触发细菌 SOS 反应来治疗细菌感染时经常被忽视的问题。