quorum sensing
Research Article | Applied and Environmental ScienceMetabolic Exchange and Energetic Coupling between Nutritionally Stressed Bacterial Species: Role of Quorum-Sensing MoleculesBacteria have usually been studied in single culture in rich media or under specific starvation conditions. However, in nature they coexist with other microorganisms and build an advanced society.
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologySecretion, Maturation, and Activity of a Quorum Sensing Peptide (GSP) Inducing Bacteriocin Transcription in Streptococcus gallolyticusStreptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus is an opportunistic pathogen associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) and endocarditis. S. gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus utilizes quorum sensing (QS) to regulate the production of a bacteriocin (gallocin) and gain a selective...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologySystematic Analysis of c-di-GMP Signaling Mechanisms and Biological Functions in Dickeya zeae EC1Dickeya zeae is the etiological agent of bacterial foot rot disease, which can cause massive economic losses in banana and rice plantations. Genome sequence analysis showed that D. zeae strain EC1 contains multiple c-di-GMP turnover genes, but their roles and regulatory mechanisms in bacterial physiology and virulence remain vague. By generating consecutive...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyIntraspecies Signaling between Common Variants of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Increases Production of Quorum-Sensing-Controlled Virulence FactorsCoculture interactions between lasR loss-of-function and LasR+ Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains may explain the worse outcomes associated with the presence of LasR− strains. More broadly, this report illustrates how interactions within a genotypically diverse population, similar to those that frequently develop in natural settings, can promote unpredictably...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Vibrio cholerae Quorum-Sensing Protein VqmA Integrates Cell Density, Environmental, and Host-Derived Cues into the Control of VirulenceQuorum sensing (QS) is a process of chemical communication that bacteria use to orchestrate collective behaviors. QS communication relies on chemical signal molecules called autoinducers. QS regulates virulence in Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of the disease cholera. Transit into the human small intestine, the site of cholera infection, exposes...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyErwinia carotovora Quorum Sensing System Regulates Host-Specific Virulence Factors and Development Delay in Drosophila melanogasterIntegration of genetic networks allows bacteria to rapidly adapt to changing environments. This is particularly important in bacteria that interact with multiple hosts. Erwinia carotovora is a plant pathogen that uses Drosophila melanogaster as a vector. To interact with these two hosts, Ecc15...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyCooperation and Cheating through a Secreted Aminopeptidase in the Pseudomonas aeruginosa RpoS ResponseBacterial stress responses are generally considered protective measures taken by individual cells. Enabled by an experimental evolution approach, we describe a contrasting property, collective nutrient acquisition, in the RpoS-dependent stress response of the opportunistic human pathogen P. aeruginosa. Specifically, we identify the secreted...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyA Shift in Central Metabolism Accompanies Virulence Activation in Pseudomonas aeruginosaThe rise of antibiotic resistance requires the development of new strategies to combat bacterial infection and pathogenesis. A major direction has been the development of drugs that broadly target virulence. However, few targets have been identified due to the species-specific nature of many virulence regulators. The lack of a virulence regulator that is conserved across species has presented a further challenge to the development of...
Research Article | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyMolecular Determinants of Substrate Selectivity of a Pneumococcal Rgg-Regulated Peptidase-Containing ABC TransporterThe export of peptides from the cell is a fundamental process carried out by all bacteria. One method of bacterial peptide export relies on a family of transporters called peptidase-containing ABC transporters (PCATs). PCATs export so-called GG peptides which carry out diverse functions, including cell-to-cell communication and interbacterial competition. In this work, we describe a PCAT-encoding genetic locus, rtg, in the...
Research Article | Host-Microbe BiologyModulation of Quorum Sensing as an Adaptation to Nodule Cell Infection during Experimental Evolution of Legume SymbiontsRhizobia are soil bacteria from unrelated genera able to form a mutualistic relationship with legumes. Bacteria induce the formation of root nodules, invade nodule cells, and fix nitrogen to the benefit of the plant. Rhizobial lineages emerged from the horizontal transfer of essential symbiotic genes followed by genome remodeling to activate and/or optimize the acquired symbiotic potential. This evolutionary scenario was replayed in a...