Dataset Information

Bis-(3'-5')-cyclic dimeric GMP-linked quorum sensing controls swarming in Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

ABSTRACT: Movement over and colonization of surfaces are important survival strategies for bacteria, and many find it advantageous to perform these activities as a group, using quorum sensing to sample population size and synchronize behavior. It is puzzling however, that swarming-proficient and virulent strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus are silenced for the vibrio archetypal pathway of quorum sensing. Here we describe the S-signal, a pheromone that can be communicated between cells in coculture to regulate surface colonization. This signal was harvested in cell-free supernatants and demonstrated to stimulate swarming gene expression at low cell density. The S-signal was generated by the pyridoxal phosphate-dependent aminotransferase ScrA; signal reception required the periplasmic binding protein ScrB and the membrane-bound GGDEF-EAL domain-containing protein ScrC. ScrC is a bifunctional enzyme that has the ability to form and degrade the second messenger bis-(3'-5') cyclic dimeric GMP (c-di-GMP). ScrA in neighboring cells was able to alter the activity of ScrC in a ScrB-dependent manner, transforming ScrC's repressing ability to inducing activity with respect to swarming. Conversely, cell-cell signaling repressed capsule gene expression. In summary, we report that quorum sensing can stimulate swarming in V. parahaemolyticus; it does so via an alternative pathway capable of generating an autoinducing signal that influences c-di-GMP, thereby expanding the lexicon and language of cell-cell communication.

SUBMITTER: Trimble MJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3207653 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Bis-(3'-5')-cyclic dimeric GMP-linked quorum sensing controls swarming in Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Trimble Michael J MJ McCarter Linda L LL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20111017 44

Movement over and colonization of surfaces are important survival strategies for bacteria, and many find it advantageous to perform these activities as a group, using quorum sensing to sample population size and synchronize behavior. It is puzzling however, that swarming-proficient and virulent strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus are silenced for the vibrio archetypal pathway of quorum sensing. Here we describe the S-signal, a pheromone that can be communicated between cells in coculture to regul ...[more]

PMID: 22006340

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Project description:Bacterial motility is critical for symbiotic colonization by Vibrio fischeri of its host, the squid Euprymna scolopes, facilitating movement from surface biofilms to spaces deep inside the symbiotic organ. While colonization has been studied traditionally using strain ES114, others, including KB2B1, can outcompete ES114 for colonization for a variety of reasons, including superior biofilm formation. We report here that KB2B1 also exhibits an unusual pattern of migration through a soft agar medium: whereas ES114 migrates rapidly and steadily, KB2B1 migrates slowly and then ceases migration. To better understand this phenomenon, we isolated and sequenced five motile KB2B1 suppressor mutants. One harbored a mutation in the gene for the cAMP receptor protein (crp); because this strain also exhibited a growth defect, it was not characterized further. Two other suppressors contained mutations in the quorum sensing pathway that controls bacterial bioluminescence in response to cell density, and two had mutations in the diguanylate cyclase (DGC) gene VF_1200. Subsequent analysis indicated that (1) the quorum sensing mutations shifted KB2B1 to a perceived low cell density state and (2) the high cell density state inhibited migration via the downstream regulator LitR. Similar to the initial point mutations, deletion of the VF_1200 DGC gene increased migration. Consistent with the possibility that production of the second messenger c-di-GMP inhibited the motility of KB2B1, reporter-based measurements of c-di-GMP revealed that KB2B1 produced higher levels of c-di-GMP than ES114, and overproduction of a c-di-GMP phosphodiesterase promoted migration of KB2B1. Finally, we assessed the role of viscosity in controlling the quorum sensing pathway using polyvinylpyrrolidone and found that viscosity increased light production of KB2B1 but not ES114. Together, our data indicate that while the two strains share regulators in common, they differ in the specifics of the regulatory control over downstream phenotypes such as motility.

Dataset Information

Bis-(3'-5')-cyclic dimeric GMP-linked quorum sensing controls swarming in Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Publications

Bis-(3'-5')-cyclic dimeric GMP-linked quorum sensing controls swarming in Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Similar Datasets

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