Global transcription changes driven by the second messenger cyclic di-GMP in Acinetobacter baumannii AB0057

In order to know the effect of the second messenger cyclic di-GMP (cdGMP) on the global transcription of A. baumannii AB0057, we performed a differential RNA sequencing (dRNA-seq) experiment comparing two AB0057 derivatives that allow IPTG-induced overexpression of the phosphodiesterase coding gene rocR (decreases cdGMP levels) or a constitutively active version of the diguanylate cyclase pleD (pleD*, increases cdGMP levels).

As a result, 98 genes appeared upregulated >2-fold in high cdGMP conditions (overexpressing pleD*) whereas 143 were downregulated. In highlights, the gene functional groups showing the strongest transcriptional alterations were those related to biofilm formation (upregulated) and twitching motility (downregulated).