The Stringent Response Modulates 4-Hydroxy-2-Alkylquinoline Biosynthesis and Quorum-Sensing Hierarchy in Pseudomonas aeruginosa

As a ubiquitous environmental organism and an important human pathogen, Pseudomonas aeruginosa readily adapts and responds to a wide range of conditions and habitats. The intricate regulatory networks that link quorum sensing and other global regulators allow P. aeruginosa to coordinate its gene expression and cell signaling in response to different growth conditions and stressors. Upon nutrient transitions and starvation, as well as other environmental stresses, the stringent response is activated, mediated by the signal (p)ppGpp. P. aeruginosa produces a family of molecules called HAQ (4-hydroxy-2-alkylquinolines), some of which exhibit antibacterial and quorum-sensing signaling functions and regulate virulence genes. In this study, we report that (p)ppGpp negatively regulates HAQ biosynthesis: in a (p)ppGpp-null (ΔSR) mutant, HHQ (4-hydroxyl-2-heptylquinoline) and PQS (3,4-dihydroxy-2-heptylquinoline) levels are increased due to upregulated pqsA and pqsR expression and reduced repression by the rhl system. We also found that (p)ppGpp is required for full expression of both rhl and las AHL (acyl-homoserine lactone) quorum-sensing systems, since the ΔSR mutant has reduced rhlI, rhlR, lasI, and lasR expression, butanoyl-homoserine lactone (C₄-HSL) and 3-oxo-dodecanoyl-homoserine lactone (3-oxo-C₁₂-HSL) levels, and rhamnolipid and elastase production. Furthermore, (p)ppGpp significantly modulates the AHL and PQS quorum-sensing hierarchy, as the las system no longer has a dominant effect on HAQ biosynthesis when the stringent response is inactivated.     

Inhibition of Quorum Sensing in Serratia marcescens AS-1 by Synthetic Analogs of N-Acylhomoserine Lactone

Quorum sensing is a regulatory system for controlling gene expression in response to increasing cell density. N-Acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) is produced by gram-negative bacteria, which use it as a quorum-sensing signal molecule. Serratia marcescens is a gram-negative opportunistic pathogen which is responsible for an increasing number of serious nosocomial infections. S. marcescens AS-1 produces N-hexanoyl homoserine lactone (C₆-HSL) and N-(3-oxohexanoyl) homoserine lactone and regulates prodigiosin production, swarming motility, and biofilm formation by AHL-mediated quorum sensing. We synthesized a series of N-acyl cyclopentylamides with acyl chain lengths ranging from 4 to 12 and estimated their inhibitory effects on prodigiosin production in AS-1. One of these molecules, N-nonanoyl-cyclopentylamide (C₉-CPA), had a strong inhibitory effect on prodigiosin production. C₉-CPA also inhibited the swarming motility and biofilm formation of AS-1. A competition assay revealed that C₉-CPA was able to inhibit quorum sensing at four times the concentration of exogenous C₆-HSL and was more effective than the previously reported halogenated furanone. Our results demonstrated that C₉-CPA was an effective quorum-sensing inhibitor for S. marcescens AS-1.     

Social Evolution Selects for Redundancy in Bacterial Quorum Sensing

Quorum sensing is a process of chemical communication that bacteria use to monitor cell density and coordinate cooperative behaviors. Quorum sensing relies on extracellular signal molecules and cognate receptor pairs. While a single quorum-sensing system is sufficient to probe cell density, bacteria frequently use multiple quorum-sensing systems to regulate the same cooperative behaviors. The potential benefits of these redundant network structures are not clear. Here, we combine modeling and experimental analyses of the Bacillus subtilis and Vibrio harveyi quorum-sensing networks to show that accumulation of multiple quorum-sensing systems may be driven by a facultative cheating mechanism. We demonstrate that a strain that has acquired an additional quorum-sensing system can exploit its ancestor that possesses one fewer system, but nonetheless, resume full cooperation with its kin when it is fixed in the population. We identify the molecular network design criteria required for this advantage. Our results suggest that increased complexity in bacterial social signaling circuits can evolve without providing an adaptive advantage in a clonal population.     

Stationary-Phase Quorum-Sensing Signals Affect Autoinducer-2 and Gene Expression in Escherichia coli

Quorum sensing via autoinducer-2 (AI-2) has been identified in different strains, including those from Escherichia, Vibrio, Streptococcus, and Bacillus species, and previous studies have suggested the existence of additional quorum-sensing signals working in the stationary phase of Escherichia coli cultures. To investigate the presence and global effect of these possible quorum-sensing signals other than AI-2, DNA microarrays were used to study the effect of stationary-phase signals on the gene expression of early exponential-phase cells of the AI-2-deficient strain E. coli DH5α. For statistically significant differential gene expression (P < 0.05), 14 genes were induced by supernatants from a stationary culture and 6 genes were repressed, suggesting the involvement of indole (induction of tnaA and tnaL) and phosphate (repression of phoA, phoB, and phoU). To study the stability of the signals, the stationary-phase supernatant was autoclaved and was used to study its effect on E. coli gene expression. Three genes were induced by autoclaved stationary-phase supernatant, and 34 genes were repressed. In total, three genes (ompC, ptsA, and btuB) were induced and five genes (nupC, phoB, phoU, argT, and ompF) were repressed by both fresh and autoclaved stationary-phase supernatants. Furthermore, supernatant from E. coli DH5α stationary culture was found to repress E. coli K-12 AI-2 concentrations by 4.8-fold ± 0.4-fold, suggesting that an additional quorum-sensing system in E. coli exists and that gene expression is controlled as a network with different signals working at different growth stages.     

Quorum-Sensing Mutations Affect Attachment and Stability of Burkholderia cenocepacia Biofilms

Biofilm formation in Burkholderia cenocepacia has been shown to rely in part on acylhomoserine lactone-based quorum sensing. For many other bacterial species, it appears that both the initial adherence and the later stages of biofilm maturation are affected when quorum sensing pathways are inhibited. In this study, we examined the effects of mutations in the cepIR and cciIR quorum-sensing systems of Burkholderia cenocepacia K56-2 with respect to biofilm attachment and antibiotic resistance. We also examined the role of the cepIR system in biofilm stability and structural development. Using the high-throughput MBEC assay system to produce multiple equivalent biofilms, the biomasses of both the cepI and cepR mutant biofilms, measured by crystal violet staining, were less than half of the value observed for the wild-type strain. Attachment was partially restored upon providing functional gene copies via multicopy expression vectors. Surprisingly, neither the cciI mutant nor the double cciI cepI mutant was deficient in attachment, and restoration of the cciI gene resulted in less attachment than for the mutants. Meanwhile, the cciR mutant did show a significant reduction in attachment, as did the cciR cepIR mutant. While there was no change in antibiotic susceptibility with the individual cepIR and cciIR mutants, the cepI cciI mutant biofilms were more sensitive to ciprofloxacin. A significant increase in sensitivity to removal by sodium dodecyl sulfate was seen for the cepI and cepR mutants. Flow cell analysis of the individual cepIR mutant biofilms indicated that they were both structurally and temporally impaired in attachment and development. These results suggest that biofilm structural defects might be present in quorum-sensing mutants of B. cenocepacia that affect the stability and resistance of the adherent cell mass, providing a basis for future studies to design preventative measures against biofilm formation in this species, an important lung pathogen of cystic fibrosis patients.     

群体感应动态调控促进大肠杆菌合成酪醇

酪醇是一种多酚类天然产物,广泛应用于化工、医药和食品等领域。目前大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)从头合成酪醇存在发酵菌体密度低和产量低等问题。为此,本研究将前期获得苯丙酮酸脱羧酶突变体ARO10F138L/D218G与不同来源的醇脱氢酶融合表达,最优组合ARO10F138L/D218G-L-YahK酪醇产量达到1.09 g/L。为进一步提高酪醇产量,敲除了4-羟基苯乙酸竞争途径关键基因feaB,使酪醇产量提高了21.15%,达到1.26g/L。针对酪醇发酵菌体密度低的问题,通过群体感应系统动态调控酪醇合成途径,减轻酪醇对底盘细胞的毒性作用,缓解生长抑制,使其产量提高了33.82%,达到1.74 g/L。在2 L发酵罐中,群体感应动态调控工程菌TRFQ5的酪醇产量达到4.22g/L,OD600值达到42.88,分别较静态诱导表达工程菌TRF5提高了38.58%和43.62%。本研究应用基因敲除技术,阻断了酪醇合成竞争途径;同时结合群体感应动态调控策略,减轻了酪醇毒性对底盘细胞的生长抑制,从而有效地提高了酪醇产量。本研究对其他高毒性化学品的生物合成具有良好的借鉴和应用价值。     

Ethylene Synthesis and Regulated Expression of Recombinant Protein in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

The ethylene-forming enzyme (EFE) from Pseudomonas syringae catalyzes the synthesis of ethylene which can be easily detected in the headspace of closed cultures. A synthetic codon-optimized gene encoding N-terminal His-tagged EFE (EFEh) was expressed in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 (Synechocystis) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) under the control of diverse promoters in a self-replicating broad host-range plasmid. Ethylene synthesis was stably maintained in both organisms in contrast to earlier work in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942. The rate of ethylene accumulation was used as a reporter for protein expression in order to assess promoter strength and inducibility with the different expression systems. Several metal-inducible cyanobacterial promoters did not function in E. coli but were well-regulated in cyanobacteria, albeit at a low level of expression. The E. coli promoter P_trc resulted in constitutive expression in cyanobacteria regardless of whether IPTG was added or not. In contrast, a Lac promoter variant, P_A1lacO-1, induced EFE-expression in Synechocystis at a level of expression as high as the Trc promoter and allowed a fine level of IPTG-dependent regulation of protein-expression. The regulation was tight at low cell density and became more relaxed in more dense cultures. A synthetic quorum-sensing promoter system was also constructed and shown to function well in E. coli, however, only a very low level of EFE-activity was observed in Synechocystis, independent of cell density.     

Inoculum Size Effect in Dimorphic Fungi: Extracellular Control of Yeast-Mycelium Dimorphism in Ceratocystis ulmi

We studied the inoculum size effect in Ceratocystis ulmi, the dimorphic fungus that causes Dutch elm disease. In a defined glucose-proline-salts medium, cells develop as budding yeasts when inoculated at ≥10⁶ spores per ml and as mycelia when inoculated at <10⁶ spores per ml. The inoculum size effect was not influenced by inoculum spore type, age of the spores, temperature, pH, oxygen availability, trace metals, sulfur source, phosphorous source, or the concentration of glucose or proline. Similarly, it was not influenced by added adenosine, reducing agents, methyl donors, amino sugars, fatty acids, or carbon dioxide. Instead, growing cells excreted an unknown quorum-sensing factor that caused a morphological shift from mycelia to budding yeasts. This yeast-promoting effect is abolished if it is extracted with an organic solvent such as ethyl acetate. The quorum-sensing activity acquired by the organic solvent could be added back to fresh medium in a dose-dependent fashion. The quorum-sensing activity in C. ulmi spent medium was specific for C. ulmi and had no effect on the dimorphic fungus Candida albicans or the photomorphogenic fungus Penicillium isariaeforme. In addition, farnesol, the quorum-sensing molecule produced by C. albicans, did not inhibit mycelial development of C. ulmi when present at concentrations of up to 100 μM. We conclude that the inoculum size effect is a manifestation of a quorum-sensing system that is mediated by an excreted extracellular molecule, and we suggest that quorum sensing is a general phenomenon in dimorphic fungi.     

Lead Precipitation by Vibrio harveyi: Evidence for Novel Quorum-Sensing Interactions

Three pleiotropic, quorum sensing-defective Vibrio harveyi mutants were observed to precipitate soluble Pb²⁺ as an insoluble compound. The compound was purified and subjected to X-ray diffraction and elemental analyses. These assays identified the precipitated compound as Pb₉(PO₄)₆, an unusual and complex lead phosphate salt that is produced synthetically at temperatures of ca. 200°C. Regulation of the precipitation phenotype was also examined. Introduction of a luxO::kan allele into one of the mutants abolished lead precipitation, indicating that the well-characterized autoinducer 1 (AI1)-AI2 quorum-sensing system can block lead precipitation in dense cell populations. Interestingly, the V. harveyi D1 mutant, a strain defective for secretion of both AI1 and AI2, was shown to be an effective trans inhibitor of lead precipitation. This suggests that a previously undescribed V. harveyi autoinducer, referred to as AI3, can also negatively regulate lead precipitation. Experiments with heterologous bacterial populations demonstrated that many different species are capable of trans regulating the V. harveyi lead precipitation phenotype. Moreover, one of the V. harveyi mutants in this study exhibited little or no response to intercellular signals from other V. harveyi inocula but was quite responsive to some of the heterologous bacteria. Based on these observations, we propose that V. harveyi carries at least one quorum sensor that is specifically dedicated to receiving cross-species communication.     

Quorum Sensing Regulates the Osmotic Stress Response in Vibrio harveyi

Bacteria use a chemical communication process called quorum sensing to monitor cell density and to alter behavior in response to fluctuations in population numbers. Previous studies with Vibrio harveyi have shown that LuxR, the master quorum-sensing regulator, activates and represses >600 genes. These include six genes that encode homologs of the Escherichia coli Bet and ProU systems for synthesis and transport, respectively, of glycine betaine, an osmoprotectant used during osmotic stress. Here we show that LuxR activates expression of the glycine betaine operon betIBA-proXWV, which enhances growth recovery under osmotic stress conditions. BetI, an autorepressor of the V. harveyi betIBA-proXWV operon, activates the expression of genes encoding regulatory small RNAs that control quorum-sensing transitions. Connecting quorum-sensing and glycine betaine pathways presumably enables V. harveyi to tune its execution of collective behaviors to its tolerance to stress.     

Utilization of Acyl-Homoserine Lactone Quorum Signals for Growth by a Soil Pseudomonad and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1

Acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) are employed by several Proteobacteria as quorum-sensing signals. Past studies have established that these compounds are subject to biochemical decay and can be used as growth nutrients. Here we describe the isolation of a soil bacterium, Pseudomonas strain PAI-A, that degrades 3-oxododecanoyl-homoserine lactone (3OC12HSL) and other long-acyl, but not short-acyl, AHLs as sole energy sources for growth. The small-subunit rRNA gene from strain PAI-A was 98.4% identical to that of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, but the soil isolate did not produce obvious pigments or AHLs or grow under denitrifying conditions or at 42°C. The quorum-sensing bacterium P. aeruginosa, which produces both 3OC12HSL and C4HSL, was examined for the ability to utilize AHLs for growth. It did so with a specificity similar to that of strain PAI-A, i.e., degrading long-acyl but not short-acyl AHLs. In contrast to the growth observed with strain PAI-A, P. aeruginosa strain PAO1 growth on AHLs commenced only after extremely long lag phases. Liquid-chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-mass spectrometry analyses indicate that strain PAO1 degrades long-acyl AHLs via an AHL acylase and a homoserine-generating HSL lactonase. A P. aeruginosa gene, pvdQ (PA2385), has previously been identified as being a homologue of the AHL acylase described as occurring in a Ralstonia species. Escherichia coli expressing pvdQ catalyzed the rapid inactivation of long-acyl AHLs and the release of HSL. P. aeruginosa engineered to constitutively express pvdQ did not accumulate its 3OC12HSL quorum signal when grown in rich media. However, pvdQ knockout mutants of P. aeruginosa were still able to grow by utilizing 3OC12HSL. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the degradation of AHLs by pseudomonads or other γ-Proteobacteria, of AHL acylase activity in a quorum-sensing bacterium, of HSL lactonase activity in any bacterium, and of AHL degradation with specificity only towards AHLs with long side chains.     

Sequence and Function of LuxU: a Two-Component Phosphorelay Protein That Regulates Quorum Sensing in Vibrio harveyi

Vibrio harveyi regulates the expression of bioluminescence (lux) in response to cell density, a phenomenon known as quorum sensing. In V. harveyi, two independent quorum-sensing systems exist, and each produces, detects, and responds to a specific cell density-dependent autoinducer signal. The autoinducers are recognized by two-component hybrid sensor kinases called LuxN and LuxQ, and sensory information from both systems is transduced by a phosphorelay mechanism to the response regulator protein LuxO. Genetic evidence suggests that LuxO-phosphate negatively regulates the expression of luminescence at low cell density in the absence of autoinducers. At high cell density, interaction of the sensors with their cognate autoinducers results in dephosphorylation and inactivation of the LuxO repressor. In the present report, we show that LuxN and LuxQ channel sensory information to LuxO via a newly identified phosphorelay protein that we have named LuxU. LuxU shows sequence similarity to other described phosphorelay proteins, including BvgS, ArcB, and Ypd1. A critical His residue (His 58) of LuxU is required for phosphorelay function.     

Acyl-homoserine lactone-dependent eavesdropping promotes competition in a laboratory co-culture model

Many Proteobacteria use acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL)-mediated quorum sensing to activate the production of antibiotics at high cell density. Extracellular factors like antibiotics can be considered public goods shared by individuals within a group. Quorum-sensing control of antibiotic production may be important for protecting a niche or competing for limited resources in mixed bacterial communities. To begin to investigate the role of quorum sensing in interspecies competition, we developed a dual-species co-culture model using the soil saprophytes Burkholderia thailandensis (Bt) and Chromobacterium violaceum (Cv). These bacteria require quorum sensing to activate the production of antimicrobial factors that inhibit growth of the other species. We demonstrate that quorum-sensing-dependent antimicrobials can provide a competitive advantage to either Bt or Cv by inhibiting growth of the other species in co-culture. Although the quorum-sensing signals differ for each species, we show that the promiscuous signal receptor encoded by Cv can sense signals produced by Bt, and that this ability to eavesdrop on Bt can provide Cv an advantage in certain situations. We use an in silico approach to investigate the effect of eavesdropping in competition, and show conditions where early activation of antibiotic production resulting from eavesdropping can promote competitiveness. Our work supports the idea that quorum sensing is important for interspecies competition and that promiscuous signal receptors allow eavesdropping on competitors in mixed microbial habitats.