ABSTRACTMussels attach to virtually all types of inorganic and organic surfaces in aqueous environments, and catecholamines composed of 3,4-dihydroxy-l-phenylalanine (DOPA), lysine, and histidine in mussel adhesive proteins play a key role in the robust adhesion. DOPA is an unusual catecholic amino acid, and its side chain is called catechol. In this study, we displayed the adhesive moiety of DOPA-histidine onEscherichia colisurfaces using outer membrane protein W as an anchoring motif for the first time. Localization of catecholamines on the cell surface was confirmed by Western blot and immunofluorescence microscopy. Furthermore, cell-to-cell cohesion (i.e., cellular aggregation) induced by the displayed catecholamine and synthesis of gold nanoparticles on the cell surface support functional display of adhesive catecholamines. The engineeredE. coliexhibited significant adhesion onto various material surfaces, including silica and glass microparticles, gold, titanium, silicon, poly(ethylene terephthalate), poly(urethane), and poly(dimethylsiloxane). The uniqueness of this approach utilizing the engineered stickyE. coliis that no chemistry for cell attachment are necessary, and the ability of spontaneousE. coliattachment allows one to immobilize the cells on challenging material surfaces such as synthetic polymers. Therefore, we envision that mussel-inspired catecholamine yielded stickyE. colithat can be used as a new type of engineered microbe for various emerging fields, such as whole living cell attachment on versatile material surfaces, cell-to-cell communication systems, and many others.
An efficient bacterial surface display system based on a novel outer membrane anchoring element from the Escherichia coli protein YiaT
