Effects and molecular mechanism of sugar transporter ESA_RS15745 on desiccation resistance, motility, and biofilm formation of Cronobacter sakazakii

Cronobacter sakazakii, an important Gram-negative foodborne pathogen, can cause neonatal meningitis and sepsis with high rates of infection and death. Gene ESA_RS15745 encodes a sugar transporter protein, which is not only essential for osmotic pressure maintenance during bacterial growth and reproduction but also associated with their desiccation tolerance, motility, and biofilm formation. Here, a mutant strain of ESA_RS15745 (ΔESA_RS15745) and the complementation strain (cpESA_RS15745) were constructed using a suicide vector knockout and gene complementation. ΔESA_RS15745 was found to have a decrease in its ability to transport maltose and trehalose and resist desiccation, whereas an increase in the ability of motility and biofilm formation, implying that ESA_RS15745 may positively regulate sugar transport and desiccation tolerance and negatively regulate motility and biofilm formation. To further investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the function of related genes, RNA-seq was performed to explore the differentially expressed genes in the mutants. RNA-seq results showed the upregulation of 114 genes (mainly including those regulating chemotaxis and flagellar motility) and the downregulation of 22 genes (mainly including those regulating sugar transport). qRT-PCR analysis supported the RNA-seq results and showed that ESA_RS15745 may influence the dehydration tolerance though decreasing the intracellular trehalose content and negatively regulate the motility though the chemotactic signaling pathway. In addition, the biofilm formation of C. sakazakii should also be speculated to negatively regulate by ESA_RS15745 by consuming the extracellular carbohydrates concentration and then downregulating the intracellular cyclic diguanosine monophosphate. This study offers a reference for comprehending the molecular mechanism of gene ESA_RS15745 in C. sakazakii.