华癸根瘤菌中自体诱导物的初步研究

群体感应 (Quorumsensing)是细菌通过产生可扩散的小分子量自体诱导物信号分子感知细胞群体密度变化 ,进行基因表达调控的生理行为。将根癌土壤杆菌 (Agrobacteriumtumefaciens)构建为超量表达群体感应调节蛋白TraR的检测菌株JZA1,试验证明该检测菌株能检测纳摩尔浓度的自体诱导物 ,利用该菌株对 3株不同华癸根瘤菌(Mesorhizobiumhuakuii)进行自体诱导物活性检测 ,发现该 3株华癸根瘤菌均能产生自体诱导物 ,其表达量与菌体密度成正相关 ,但 3株菌在相同培养条件下自体诱导物的表达量存在差异 ,结果表明自体诱导物在种内水平上存在一定的多样性 ;同时发现高pH条件能大大降低自体诱导物的稳定性 ,为进一步研究群体感应调节在共生固氮上的作用提供理论及实践依据     

细菌中的群体感应

群体感应(quorum sensing)是细菌根据细胞密度变化进行基因表达调控的一种生理行为。具有群体感应的细菌能产生并释放一种被称为自体诱导物(autoinducer)的信号分子,它随着细胞密度增加而同步增加。当自体诱导物积累到一定浓度时会改变细菌特定基因的表达。革兰氏阳性及阴性细菌通过群体感应与周围环境进行信息交流,从而改变细菌的一系列生理活性,这些细菌的生理特性包括共生、细菌毒性、竞争、接合、抗生素的产生、运动性、孢子及生物膜的形成。这种信号传递方式可能对低等的细胞进一步进化,并形成高等的生物体有重要作用。细菌中群体感应系统的进化可能是多细胞体形成的早期阶段。     

根瘤菌群体感应系统研究进展*

群体感应是指细菌中依赖于细胞密度的基因表达调控过程,参与这种调节的系统被称为群体感应系统。N-酰基高丝氨酸内酯是大多数革兰氏阴性细菌群体感应系统的信号分子。这种系统调节细菌各种生理学反应和某些特定功能。在根瘤菌与宿主豆科植物成功建立共生关系的过程中,起着重要作用。详细的综述了根瘤菌中已发现的群体感应系统,并阐述了这种系统的调节功能和对实际应用的指导意义。     

细菌密度阈值感应现象的研究

细菌通过复杂的信号传递系统进行着信息交流.细菌的密度阈值感应现象(quorum sensing,QS)是这一信号系统的重要组成部分.细菌通过释放,发现,接受信号分子而实现这一途径.这些信号分子被称为自体诱导分子(autoinducers,AI).通过自体诱导分子细菌可以分辨细胞密度的大小,并通过控制基因的表达而调节细菌的数量.这一过程被称为细菌的密度阈值感应现象.通过这一机制,细菌可以调控整个细菌菌落的基因表达.细菌的密度阈值感应现象使真核生物与原核生物之间的界限变得模糊,细菌可以像多细胞生物一样拥有许多作为个体细菌不可能拥有的特性.细菌的许多行为都受到密度阈值感应机制的调控,如共生现象,毒力因子的表达,耐药性的产生及生物膜的形成等等.研究表明正是通过这种密度阈值感应现象,无论是高度特异的密度阈值感应现象还是普遍存在的密度阈值感应现象,实现了细菌与细菌之间的交流.原核生物与真核生物都不可避免地受到密度阈值感应现象的影响.竞争细菌及易感的真核生物宿主可以通过分泌破坏自体诱导分子或产生自体诱导分子抗体来破坏细菌的密度阈值感应系统而对抗细菌的入侵.     

铜绿假单胞菌群体感应系统的研究进展

细菌的群体感应也称自身诱导,是指细菌通过产生和感应信号分子浓度的变化来监测其群体密度,协调群体行为的过程.自身诱导物随着细菌密度增高而增高,当自身诱导物达到某一阈值后,会与一些转录调节子结合,从而诱导或抑制多种基因的表达.群体感应系统内由多种信号分子和效应蛋白组成复杂的调节网络,调控包括细菌毒力因子产生与释放、生物膜形成、接合反应等,从而影响细菌的致病过程.本文主要对铜绿假单胞菌的群体感应系统及其与宿主关系、群体感应抑制剂等方面的研究进展进行综述.     

中华根瘤菌Sinorhizobium sp.1128自体诱导物合成酶基因的克隆及对生理功能的影响

[目的]从中华根瘤菌Sinorhizobium sp.1128中克隆自体诱导物合成酶基因,从而研究该基因在Sinorhizobium sp.1128群体感应系统中的作用.[方法]利用基因序列同源性比对以及分子克隆的方法,从中华根瘤菌Sinorhizobium sp.1128中克隆自体诱导物合成酶基因;利用大肠杆菌异源表达、C18反相薄层层析(TLC)的方法研究该基因的特性;通过中间片段融合的方法缺失该基因,并通过结瘤实验研究该基因对Sinorhizobium sp.1128生理功能的影响.[结果]以草木樨中华根瘤菌Sinorhizobium medicae WSM419自体诱导物合成酶基因Smed_1560序列设计引物,通过PCR扩增在Sinorhizobium sp.1128中寻找到一新的自体诱导物合成基因,命名为traI2.该基因在大肠杆菌Escherichia coli DH5α中表达后能产生两种自体诱导物分子.在Sinorhizobium sp.1128中将该基因缺失,自体诱导物活性下降;回复突变后,自体诱导物活性得到恢复,结瘤实验结果表明该基因能影响根瘤菌的结瘤效率.[结论]中华根瘤菌Sinorhizobium sp.1128群体感应系统是一个复杂的交互系统,它对结瘤的生理功能具有一定的影响.     

细菌群体感应信号分子与抑制剂研究进展

具有群体感应系统的细菌通过相互交换一种自动诱导（autoinducer）信号分子来实现彼此问的信息交流。当信号分子积累到一定浓度时会改变细菌特定基因的表达,如生物膜的形成、生物发光行为、毒性基因的表达、孢子的形成等。近年来,人们发现了多种天然或者人工合成的群体感应抑制剂,可以干扰群感系统的信息回路。本文系统地阐述了细菌群体感应信息系统的划分、自体诱导分子及其抑制剂的研究进展。     

生物聚集体中群体感应作用的研究进展

群体感应是微生物利用信号分子感知环境条件并进行特定基因表达调控.近年来,随着群体感应在微生物信息交流中的作用日益凸显,其在生物聚集体(生物膜和颗粒)形成过程中的作用受到广泛关注.本文综述了自体诱导信号分子AI的分类和相应的群体感应调控方式,以及群体感应信号分子对生物聚集体形成和结构稳定的调控,并对群体感应研究新领域进行了展望.     

植物对细菌群体感应系统的反应

细菌的群体感应系统参与包括动植物病原细菌致病因子产生在内的许多生物学功能的调节。植物可以感知细菌群体感应系统及其信号分子,并作出复杂反应。植物可能受细菌群体感应信号分子诱导产生系统性防御反应,能够分泌细菌群体感应信号分子的类似物,可能产生降解细菌N-酰基高丝氨酸内酯信号分子的酶来阻断或干扰细菌群体感应系统。     

细菌的群体感应及与病原菌致病性的关系

微生物的群体感应(quorum sensing,QS)也称为自诱导,是微生物间通过小分子分泌物(自诱导物)在细胞与细胞之间扩散以感知群体密度,并通过自诱导物的浓度及其与转录因子的相互作用调控整个群体细胞中一系列目标基因表达的一种自我感知系统.不同的细菌类型,其QS系统也有一定的差异.根据信号分子的不同,一般可以将细菌的QS系统分为3类,即以AHL为信号分子的革兰氏阴性细菌、以寡肽类物质为信号分子的革兰氏阳性细菌和以哈氏弧菌为代表的兼具上述两种类型QS系统特征的第三类QS系统.综述革兰氏阴性细菌、革兰氏阳性细菌和哈氏弧菌的3种不同QS系统及其在病原菌致病性方面的研究进展.     

噬菌体群体感应系统及其分子机理研究进展

群体感应(Quorum Sensing,QS)是微生物群体在生长过程中,随着群体密度的增加,其分泌的"信号分子"的浓度达到一定阈值后与微生物体内特定受体结合,从而影响微生物特定基因表达,导致其生理和生化特性的变化,表现出少量菌体或单个菌体所不具备的特征。1994年Fuqua提出群体感应概念后就成为微生物领域的研究热点。然而,群体感应的研究主要集中在细菌中,但近年来群体感应在噬菌体、真菌中也不断被发现,尤其自2017年Erez在多种枯草芽孢杆菌噬菌体中发现群体感应现象,并且揭示噬菌体群体感应主要调控其溶源-裂解途径的转换。近年来的研究又陆续在其他噬菌体中发现了群体感应。本文综述了噬菌体群体感应系统最新研究进展及其相关的基因功能和分子机理。     

Information processing and signal integration in bacterial quorum sensing

Bacteria communicate using secreted chemical signaling molecules called autoinducers in a process known as quorum sensing. The quorum‐sensing network of the marine bacterium Vibrio harveyi uses three autoinducers, each known to encode distinct ecological information. Yet how cells integrate and interpret the information contained within these three autoinducer signals remains a mystery. Here, we develop a new framework for analyzing signal integration on the basis of information theory and use it to analyze quorum sensing in V. harveyi. We quantify how much the cells can learn about individual autoinducers and explain the experimentally observed input–output relation of the V. harveyi quorum‐sensing circuit. Our results suggest that the need to limit interference between input signals places strong constraints on the architecture of bacterial signal‐integration networks, and that bacteria probably have evolved active strategies for minimizing this interference. Here, we analyze two such strategies: manipulation of autoinducer production and feedback on receptor number ratios.     

Quorum sensing in nitrogen-fixing rhizobia.

Members of the rhizobia are distinguished for their ability to establish a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with leguminous plants. While many details of this relationship remain a mystery, much effort has gone into elucidating the mechanisms governing bacterium-host recognition and the events leading to symbiosis. Several signal molecules, including plant-produced flavonoids and bacterially produced nodulation factors and exopolysaccharides, are known to function in the molecular conversation between the host and the symbiont. Work by several laboratories has shown that an additional mode of regulation, quorum sensing, intercedes in the signal exchange process and perhaps plays a major role in preparing and coordinating the nitrogen-fixing rhizobia during the establishment of the symbiosis. Rhizobium leguminosarum, for example, carries a multitiered quorum-sensing system that represents one of the most complex regulatory networks identified for this form of gene regulation. This review focuses on the recent stream of information regarding quorum sensing in the nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. Seminal work on the quorum-sensing systems of R. leguminosarum bv. viciae, R. etli, Rhizobium sp. strain NGR234, Sinorhizobium meliloti, and Bradyrhizobium japonicum is presented and discussed. The latest work shows that quorum sensing can be linked to various symbiotic phenomena including nodulation efficiency, symbiosome development, exopolysaccharide production, and nitrogen fixation, all of which are important for the establishment of a successful symbiosis. Many questions remain to be answered, but the knowledge obtained so far provides a firm foundation for future studies on the role of quorum-sensing mediated gene regulation in host-bacterium interactions.     

Quorum sensing: How bacteria can coordinate activity and synchronize their response to external signals?

Quorum sensing is used by a large variety of bacteria to regulate gene expression in a cell-density-dependent manner. Bacteria can synchronize population behavior using small molecules called autoinducers that are produced by cognate synthases and recognized by specific receptors. Quorum sensing plays critical roles in regulating diverse cellular functions in bacteria, including bioluminescence, virulence gene expression, biofilm formation, and antibiotic resistance. The best-studied autoinducers are acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) molecules, which are the primary quorum sensing signals used by Gram-negative bacteria. In this review we focus on the AHL-dependent quorum sensing system and highlight recent progress on structural and mechanistic studies of AHL synthases and the corresponding receptors. Crystal structures of LuxI-type AHL synthases provide insights into acyl-substrate specificity, but the current knowledge is still greatly limited. Structural studies of AHL receptors have facilitated a more thorough understanding of signal perception and established the molecular framework for the development of quorum sensing inhibitors.     

Bacteroides species produce Vibrio harveyi autoinducer 2-related molecules

Quorum sensing is a density-dependent gene regulation mechanism that has been described in many bacterial species in the last decades. Bacteria that use quorum sensing as part of their gene regulation circuits produce molecules called autoinducers that accumulate in the environment and activate target genes in a quorum-dependent way. Some specific clues led us to hypothesize that Bacteroides species can produce autoinducers and possess a quorum sensing system. First, Bacteroides are anaerobic bacteria that are frequently involved in polymicrobial infections. These infections often involve Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, two of the best understood examples of bacteria that employ quorum sensing systems as part of their pathogenesis. Also, studies have detected the presence of a quorum sensing gene involved in the production of autoinducers in Porphyromonas gingivalis, a species closely related to the Bacteroides genus. These and other evidences prompted us to investigate if Bacteroides strains could produce autoinducer molecules that could be detected by a Vibrio harveyi reporter system. In this paper, we show that supernatants of B. fragilis, B. vulgatus and B. distasonis strains are able to stimulate the V. harveyi quorum sensing system 2. Also, we were able to demonstrate that the stimulation detected is due to the production of autoinducer molecules and not the growth of reporter strains after addition of supernatant. Moreover, the phenomenon observed does not seem to represent the degradation of repressors possibly present in the culture medium used. We could also amplify bands from some of the strains tested using primers designed to the luxS gene of Escherichia coli. Altogether, our results show that B. fragilis, B. vulgatus and B. distasonis (but possibly some other species) can produce V. harveyi autoinducer 2-related molecules. However, the role of such molecules in the biology of these organisms remains unknown.     

厌氧氨氧化菌群体感应系统研究

厌氧氨氧化(Anammox)是以铵为电子供体将亚硝酸盐转化为氮气的生物过程。厌氧氨氧化菌(AAOB)生理代谢和细胞结构均十分特殊,且在氮素循环中起着十分重要的作用。厌氧氨氧化已成为环境学、微生物学、海洋学等领域的研究热点。但是,至今人们未能对厌氧氨氧化菌进行纯培养,这严重限制了对厌氧氨氧化菌的深入研究。群体感应是一种普遍存在于微生物细胞之间的通讯机制,它具有根据菌群密度和周围环境变化调节基因表达,以控制细菌群体行为的功能。厌氧氨氧化菌活性的细胞密度效应和生物团聚行为与细菌中普遍存在的群体感应现象相符。探讨了厌氧氨氧化菌群体感应系统存在的可能性、工作机制及其生态学意义,以期为厌氧氨氧化菌的分离培养、团聚体培育等提供理论指导。     

Molecular insights into quorum sensing in the human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa from the structure of the virulence regulator LasR bound to its autoinducer

Many Gram-negative bacteria communicate via molecules called autoinducers to coordinate the activities of their populations. Such communication is termed quorum sensing and can regulate pathogenic virulence factor production and antimicrobial resistance. The quorum sensing system of Pseudomonas aeruginosa is currently the most intensively researched, because this bacterium is an opportunistic human pathogen annually responsible for the death of thousands of cystic fibrosis sufferers and many other immunocompromised individuals. Quorum sensing inhibitors can attenuate the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa. Here we present the crystal structure of the P. aeruginosa LasR ligand-binding domain bound to its autoinducer 3-oxo-C(12)-acylhomoserine lactone. The structure is a symmetrical dimer, with each monomer exhibiting an alpha-beta-alpha fold similar to the TraR and SdiA quorum sensing proteins of Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Escherichia coli. The structure was determined up to 1.8-A resolution and reveals the atomic interactions between LasR and its autoinducer. The monomer structures of LasR, TraR, and SdiA are comparable but display differences in their quaternary organization. Inspection of their binding sites shows some unexpected variations resulting in quite different conformations of their bound autoinducers. We modeled interactions between LasR and various quorum sensing inhibitors, yielding insight into their possible mechanisms of action. The structure also provides a platform for the optimization, or de novo design, of quorum sensing inhibitors.     

Quorum sensing intervened bacterial signaling: Pursuit of its cognizance and repression

Bacteria communicate within a system by means of a density dependent mechanism known as quorum sensing which regulate the metabolic and behavioral activities of a bacterial community. This sort of interaction occurs through a dialect of chemical signals called as autoinducers synthesized by bacteria. Bacterial quorum sensing occurs through various complex pathways depending upon specious diversity. Therefore the cognizance of quorum sensing mechanism will enable the regulation and thereby constrain bacterial communication. Inhibition strategies of quorum sensing are collectively called as quorum quenching; through which bacteria are incapacitated of its interaction with each other. Many virulence mechanism such as sporulation, biofilm formation, toxin production can be blocked by quorum quenching. Usually quorum quenching mechanisms can be broadly classified into enzymatic methods and non-enzymatic methods. Substantial understanding of bacterial communication and its inhibition enhances the development of novel antibacterial therapeutic drugs. In this review we have discussed the types and mechanisms of quorum sensing and various methods to inhibit and regulate density dependent bacterial communication.     

Quorum Sensing in Nitrogen-Fixing Rhizobia

Members of the rhizobia are distinguished for their ability to establish a nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with leguminous plants. While many details of this relationship remain a mystery, much effort has gone into elucidating the mechanisms governing bacterium-host recognition and the events leading to symbiosis. Several signal molecules, including plant-produced flavonoids and bacterially produced nodulation factors and exopolysaccharides, are known to function in the molecular conversation between the host and the symbiont. Work by several laboratories has shown that an additional mode of regulation, quorum sensing, intercedes in the signal exchange process and perhaps plays a major role in preparing and coordinating the nitrogen-fixing rhizobia during the establishment of the symbiosis. Rhizobium leguminosarum, for example, carries a multitiered quorum-sensing system that represents one of the most complex regulatory networks identified for this form of gene regulation. This review focuses on the recent stream of information regarding quorum sensing in the nitrogen-fixing rhizobia. Seminal work on the quorum-sensing systems of R. leguminosarum bv. viciae, R. etli, Rhizobium sp. strain NGR234, Sinorhizobium meliloti, and Bradyrhizobium japonicum is presented and discussed. The latest work shows that quorum sensing can be linked to various symbiotic phenomena including nodulation efficiency, symbiosome development, exopolysaccharide production, and nitrogen fixation, all of which are important for the establishment of a successful symbiosis. Many questions remain to be answered, but the knowledge obtained so far provides a firm foundation for future studies on the role of quorum-sensing mediated gene regulation in host-bacterium interactions.