Transcriptome profiling of a curdlan-producing Agrobacterium reveals conserved regulatory mechanisms of exopolysaccharide biosynthesis

Background  

The ability to synthesize exopolysaccharides (EPS) is widespread among microorganisms, and microbial EPS play important roles in biofilm formation, pathogen persistence, and applications in the food and medical industries. Although it is well established that EPS synthesis is invariably in response to environmental cues, it remains largely unknown how various environmental signals trigger activation of the biochemical synthesis machinery.