Contribution of PonA2 to biofilm and colony formation independent of its catalytic domains in Mycobacterium smegmatis.

PonA2 contributes to colony and biofilm development in Mycobacterium smegmatis independently of its catalytic activity, maintaining membrane domain localization and cell morphology.

• Why it matters: Understanding how membrane organization influences multicellular growth is crucial for revealing mycobacterial adaptation mechanisms and potential vulnerabilities in biofilm and colony states.
• What they did: Researchers analyzed wild-type, ponA2 deletion, complemented, and catalytically inactive PonA2 variants during colony and pellicle biofilm growth, focusing on membrane localization, cell morphology, and lipid composition.
• The result: Loss of ponA2 led to altered colony and biofilm architecture and reduced specific lipids, but catalytically inactive PonA2 variants preserved membrane domains and morphology, indicating a noncatalytic role in multicellular growth.