Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Bile Salt-induced Biofilm Formation in Enteric Pathogens: Techniques for Identification and Quantification
Published on: May 6, 2018
Role of galE on biofilm formation by Thermus spp
Yi-Kai Niou1, Wan-Ling Wu, Ling-Chun Lin
1Institute of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien 97002, Taiwan.
Abstract:
Thermus thermophilus and Thermus aquaticus are thermophilic bacteria that are frequently found to attach to solid surfaces in hot springs to form biofilms. Uridine diphosphate (UDP)-galactose-4'-epimerase (GalE) is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of UDP-galactose to UDP-glucose, an important biochemical step in exopolysaccharide synthesis. We expressed GalE obtained from T. thermophilus HB8 in Escherichia coli and found that the enzyme is stable at 80 degrees C and can epimerize UDP-galactose to UDP-glucose and UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine (UDP-GalNAc) to UDP-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc). Enzyme overexpression in T. thermophilus HB27 led to an increased capacity of biofilm production. Therefore, the galE gene is important to biofilm formation because of its involvement in epimerizing UDP-galactose and UDP-N-acetylgalactosamine for exopolysaccharide biosynthesis.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Biofilms
Hyperthermophilic Bacteria
Microbial Mats
Anoxygenic Phototrophic Bacteria
Surface Appendages of Archaea
