Whole-genome sequencing of Pseudomonas sp. TAE6080, a strain capable of inhibiting Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm.

Antarctic bacteria are able to survive under extreme environmental conditions and have adapted to exploit some of the most ephemeral nutrient pockets. Importantly, such strains have been often shown to be capable of synthesizing compounds of valuable biotechnological importance. Here we show that Pseudomonas sp. TAE6080, a possibly new bacterium isolated in 1994 during water column samplings near the French Antarctic station Dumont d'Urville, is capable of inhibiting the formation of Staphylococcus epidermidis biofilm, known to be an important opportunistic pathogen in infections associated to medical devices. A better understanding of this bacterium can therefore provide useful insight on new bioactive molecules that could play a role against chronic infections. To this end, the anti-biofilm effect of cell-free supernatant of Pseudomonas sp. TAE6080 was evaluated on S. epidermidis RP62A biofilm formation, demonstrating that it significantly reduced its aggregation. Furthermore, genome sequencing, assembly and mining revealed a plethora of putative biosynthetic gene clusters that might be involved in biofilm disruption. The experimental and genomic data presented here open the venue to further investigations on the molecular basis underlying biofilm inhibition.