PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Nicolas Perez-Soto AU - Lauren Moule AU - Daniel N. Crisan AU - Ignacio Insua AU - Leanne M. Taylor-Smith AU - Kerstin Voelz AU - Francisco Fernandez-Trillo AU - Anne Marie Krachler TI - Capture of <em>Vibrio cholerae</em> by charged polymers inhibits pathogeniciy by inducing a sessile lifestyle AID - 10.1101/066563 DP - 2016 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 066563 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/07/28/066563.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2016/07/28/066563.full AB - Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera, is an abundant environmental bacterium that can efficiently colonize the intestinal tract and trigger severe diarrheal illness. Motility, and the production of colonization factors and cholera toxin, are fundamental for the establishment of disease. In the aquatic environment, V. cholerae persists by forming avirulent biofilms on zooplankton, phytoplankton and chitin debris. Here, we describe the formation of artificial, biofilm-like communities, driven by exposure of planktonic bacteria to synthetic polymers. This recruitment is extremely rapid and charge-driven, and leads to the formation of initial “seed clusters” which then recruit additional bacteria to extend in size. Bacteria that become entrapped in these “forced communities” undergo transcriptional changes in motility and virulence genes, and phenotypically mimic features of environmental biofilm communities by forming a matrix that contains polysaccharide and extracellular DNA. As a result of this lifestyle transition, pathogenicity and in vivo host colonization decrease. These findings highlight the potential of synthetic polymers to disarm pathogens by modulating their lifestlye, without creating selective pressure favoring the emergence of antimicrobial resistant strains.SIGNIFICANCE Vibrio cholerae is an important human pathogen and causes watery diarrhea after consumption of contaminated water. Its reservoir are aquatic environments, where it persists in an avirulent biofilm state. Upon ingestion, it escapes biofilms and expresses virulence factors, leading to colonization and pathogenicity within the human host. Here, we show that capture by charged polymers rapidly immobilizes V. cholerae and artificially forces it into a sessile state. This mimics environmental cues for biofilm formation and leads to repression of virulence factors through loss of motility. This work highlights a novel artificial lifestyle and an efficient way to neutralize virulent V. cholerae and block disease and transmission.