Secreted nucleases reclaim extracellular DNA during biofilm development.

Abstract

DNA is the genetic code found inside all living cells and its molecular stability can also be utilized outside the cell. While extracellular DNA (eDNA) has been identified as a structural polymer in bacterial biofilms, whether it persists stably throughout development remains unclear. Here, we report that eDNA is temporarily invested in the biofilm matrix before being reclaimed later in development. Specifically, by imaging eDNA dynamics within undomesticated Bacillus subtilis biofilms, we found eDNA is produced during biofilm establishment before being globally degraded in a spatiotemporally coordinated pulse. We identified YhcR, a secreted Ca²⁺-dependent nuclease, as responsible for eDNA degradation in pellicle biofilms. YhcR cooperates with two other nucleases, NucA and NucB, to reclaim eDNA for its phosphate content in colony biofilms. Our results identify extracellular nucleases that are crucial for eDNA reclamation during biofilm development and we therefore propose a new role for eDNA as a dynamic metabolic reservoir.