Role of Pel and Psl polysaccharides in the response of to environmental challenges: oxidative stress agents (UVA, HO, sodium hypochlorite) and its competitor .

is a versatile bacterium capable of adapting to a wide range of stress factors, including solar UVA radiation (400-315 nm). High UVA doses produce lethal effects due to the action of reactive oxygen species. Sublethal UVA doses also induces oxidative damage, but, in addition, it triggers a variety of adaptive responses, including the overexpression of and genes in . These genes encode the synthesis of Pel and Psl, which are essential polysaccharides in biofilm formation. The present study analysed the role of Pel and Psl in the adaptive responses generated by exposure to low UVA doses, and their importance in the response to lethal doses of UVA, hydrogen peroxide (HO), and sodium hypochlorite, in both planktonic cells and submerged and air-liquid interface (ALI) biofilms. It also studied the roles of Pel and Psl in interaction. The results demonstrate that the capacity of sublethal UVA exposure to increase cell hydrophobicity and cell attachment and generate cross-protection phenomena in depends on the presence of Pel and Psl. The study also shows that Pel and Psl have a key role in the tolerance to lethal doses of UVA radiation, sodium hypochlorite and HO, in both biofilms and planktonic cells. Finally, co-culture assays showed total inhibition of growth in presence of . This phenomenon depends, at least in part, on the simultaneous presence of Pel and Psl in planktonic cells and biofilms, suggesting a relevant role of these polysaccharides in the interaction between these species.