scholarly journals Cell-free andin vivocharacterization of Lux, Las, and Rpa quorum activation systems inE. coli

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Halleran ◽  
Richard M. Murray
Keyword(s):  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Design Space ◽  
Group Decision ◽  
Microbial Consortia ◽  
Test Bed ◽  
Free System ◽  
Sensing Systems ◽  
Signal Crosstalk

AbstractSynthetic biologists have turned towards quorum systems as a path for building sophisticated microbial consortia that exhibit group decision making. Currently, however, even the most complex consortium circuits rely on only one or two quorum sensing systems, greatly restricting the available design space. High-throughput characterization of available quorum sensing systems is useful for finding compatible sets of systems that are suitable for a defined circuit architecture. Recently, cell–free systems have gained popularity as a test-bed for rapid prototyping of genetic circuitry.We take advantage of the transcription-translation cell-free system to characterize three commonly used Lux-type quorum activators, Lux, Las, and Rpa. We then compare the cell-free characterization to results obtainedin vivo.We find significant genetic crosstalk in both the Las and Rpa systems and substantial signal crosstalk in Lux activation. We show that cell-free characterization predicts crosstalk observedin vivo.

scholarly journals Identification and Characterization of Quorum-Quenching Activity of N-Acylhomoserine Lactonase from Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci

Antibiotics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 483
Author(s):  
Tomohiro Morohoshi ◽  
Yaoki Kamimura ◽  
Nobutaka Someya
Keyword(s):  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Quorum Quenching ◽  
Coagulase Negative Staphylococci ◽  
Sensing Systems ◽  
Genes Encoding ◽  
Acyl Chains ◽  
Gene Homologue ◽  
Identification And Characterization

N-Acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) are used as quorum-sensing signals in Gram-negative bacteria. Many genes encoding AHL-degrading enzymes have been cloned and characterized in various microorganisms. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are present on the skin of animals and are considered low-virulent species. The AHL-lactonase gene homologue, ahlS, was present in the genomes of the CNS strains Staphylococcus carnosus, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Staphylococcus saprophyticus, and Staphylococcus sciuri. We cloned the candidate ahlS homologue from six CNS strains into the pBBR1MCS5 vector. AhlS from the CNS strains showed a higher degrading activity against AHLs with short acyl chains compared to those with long acyl chains. AhlS from S. sciuri was expressed and purified as a maltose-binding protein (MBP) fusion. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that regulates several virulence factors such as elastase and pyocyanin by quorum-sensing systems. When MBP-AhlS was added to the culture of P. aeruginosa PAO1, pyocyanin production and elastase activity were substantially reduced compared to those in untreated PAO1. These results demonstrate that the AHL-degrading activity of AhlS from the CNS strains can inhibit quorum sensing in P. aeruginosa PAO1.

scholarly journals Functional Requirement of Noncoding Y RNAs for Human Chromosomal DNA Replication

2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (18) ◽  
pp. 6993-7004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christo P. Christov ◽  
Timothy J. Gardiner ◽  
Dávid Szüts ◽  
Torsten Krude
Keyword(s):  
Dna Replication ◽  
Functional Characterization ◽  
Noncoding Rnas ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Replication Forks ◽  
Chromosomal Dna ◽  
Free System ◽  
Specific Degradation

ABSTRACT Noncoding RNAs are recognized increasingly as important regulators of fundamental biological processes, such as gene expression and development, in eukaryotes. We report here the identification and functional characterization of the small noncoding human Y RNAs (hY RNAs) as novel factors for chromosomal DNA replication in a human cell-free system. In addition to protein fractions, hY RNAs are essential for the establishment of active chromosomal DNA replication forks in template nuclei isolated from late-G1-phase human cells. Specific degradation of hY RNAs leads to the inhibition of semiconservative DNA replication in late-G1-phase template nuclei. This inhibition is negated by resupplementation of hY RNAs. All four hY RNAs (hY1, hY3, hY4, and hY5) can functionally substitute for each other in this system. Mutagenesis of hY1 RNA showed that the binding site for Ro60 protein, which is required for Ro RNP assembly, is not essential for DNA replication. Degradation of hY1 RNA in asynchronously proliferating HeLa cells by RNA interference reduced the percentages of cells incorporating bromodeoxyuridine in vivo. These experiments implicate a functional role for hY RNAs in human chromosomal DNA replication.

Disassembly of the Drosophila nuclear lamina in a homologous cell-free system

1995 ◽  
Vol 108 (5) ◽  
pp. 2027-2035 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Maus ◽  
N. Stuurman ◽  
P.A. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Lamina ◽  
Meiotic Metaphase ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Cell Free Extract ◽  
Free System ◽  
Nuclear Lamin ◽  
A Cell

Stage 14 Drosophila oocytes are arrested in first meiotic metaphase. A cell-free extract of these oocytes catalyzes apparent disassembly of purified Drosophila nuclei as well as of nuclear lamin polymers formed in vitro from isolated interphase lamins. Biochemically, the oocyte extract catalyzes lamin solubilization and phosphorylation as well as characteristic changes in one- and two-dimensional gel mobility. A previously unidentified soluble lamin isoform is easily seen after in vitro disassembly. This isoform is detectable but present only in very small quantities in vivo and is apparently derived specifically from one of the two interphase lamin isoforms. Cell-free nuclear lamina disassembly is ATP-dependent and addition of calcium to extracts blocks disassembly as judged both morphologically and biochemically. This system will allow enzymological characterization of cell-free lamina disassembly as well as molecular analysis of specific Drosophila mutants.

scholarly journals The Pseudomonas aeruginosa Quorum-Sensing Molecule N-(3-Oxododecanoyl)Homoserine Lactone Contributes to Virulence and Induces Inflammation In Vivo

2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (4) ◽  
pp. 1132-1139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger S. Smith ◽  
Sarah G. Harris ◽  
Richard Phipps ◽  
Barbara Iglewski
Keyword(s):  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
T Cell Activation ◽  
Cell Activation ◽  
White Blood Cells ◽  
Homoserine Lactone ◽  
Tissue Destruction ◽  
Sensing Systems ◽  
Cox 2

ABSTRACT Pseudomonas aeruginosa has two well-characterized quorum-sensing systems, Las and Rhl. These systems are composed of LuxR-type proteins, LasR and RhlR, and two acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) synthases, LasI and RhlI. LasI catalyzes the synthesis of N-(3-oxododecanoyl)homoserine lactone (3O-C12-HSL), whereas RhlI catalyzes the synthesis of N-butyryl-homoserine lactone. There is little known about the importance of AHLs in vivo and what effects these molecules have on eukaryotic cells. In order to understand the role of AHLs in vivo, we first tested the effects that deletions of the synthase genes in P. aeruginosa had on colonization of the lung. We demonstrate that in an adult mouse acute-pneumonia model, deletion of the lasI gene or both the lasI and rhlI genes greatly diminished the ability of P. aeruginosa to colonize the lung. To determine whether AHLs have a direct effect on the host, we examined the effects of 3O-C12-HSL injected into the skin of mice. In this model, 3O-C12-HSL stimulated a significant induction of mRNAs for the cytokines interleukin-1α (IL-1α) and IL-6 and the chemokines macrophage inflammatory protein 2 (MIP-2), monocyte chemotactic protein 1, MIP-1β, inducible protein 10, and T-cell activation gene 3. Additionally, dermal injections of 3O-C12-HSL also induced cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox-2) expression. The Cox-2 enzyme is important for the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins and is associated with edema, inflammatory infiltrate, fever, and pain. We also demonstrate that 3O-C12-HSL activates T cells to produce the inflammatory cytokine gamma interferon and therefore potentially promotes a Th1 environment. Induction of these inflammatory mediators in vivo is potentially responsible for the significant influx of white blood cells and subsequent tissue destruction associated with 3O-C12-HSL dermal injections. Therefore, the quorum-sensing systems of P. aeruginosa contribute to its pathogenesis both by regulating expression of virulence factors (exoenzymes and toxins) and by inducing inflammation.

Characterization of a cable-free system based on p-type MOSFET detectors for “in vivo ” entrance skin dose measurements in interventional radiology

2012 ◽  
Vol 39 (8) ◽  
pp. 4866-4874 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Daniela Falco ◽  
Marco D'Andrea ◽  
Lidia Strigari ◽  
Daniela D'Alessio ◽  
Francesco Quagliani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interventional Radiology ◽  
Skin Dose ◽  
Free System ◽  
Entrance Skin Dose ◽  
P Type ◽  
Dose Measurements

scholarly journals Instantaneous Within-Patient Diversity of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Quorum-Sensing Populations from Cystic Fibrosis Lung Infections

2009 ◽  
Vol 77 (12) ◽  
pp. 5631-5639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cara N. Wilder ◽  
Gopal Allada ◽  
Martin Schuster
Keyword(s):  
Cystic Fibrosis ◽  
Pseudomonas Aeruginosa ◽  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Opportunistic Pathogen ◽  
Homoserine Lactone ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Selective Forces ◽  
Lung Infections

ABSTRACT In the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, acyl-homoserine lactone (acyl-HSL) quorum sensing (QS) regulates biofilm formation and expression of many extracellular virulence factors. Curiously, QS-deficient variants, often carrying mutations in the central QS regulator LasR, are frequently isolated from infections, particularly from cystic fibrosis (CF) lung infections. Very little is known about the proportion and diversity of these QS variants in individual infections. Such information is desirable to better understand the selective forces that drive the evolution of QS phenotypes, including social cheating and innate (nonsocial) benefits. To obtain insight into the instantaneous within-patient diversity of QS, we assayed a panel of 135 concurrent P. aeruginosa isolates from eight different adult CF patients (9 to 20 isolates per patient) for various QS-controlled phenotypes. Most patients contained complex mixtures of QS-proficient and -deficient isolates. Among all patients, deficiency in individual phenotypes ranged from 0 to about 90%. Acyl-HSL, sequencing, and complementation analyses of variants with global loss-of-function phenotypes revealed dependency upon the central QS circuitry genes lasR, lasI, and rhlI. Deficient and proficient isolates were clonally related, implying evolution from a common ancestor in vivo. Our results show that the diversity of QS types is high within and among patients, suggesting diverse selection pressures in the CF lung. A single selective mechanism, be it of a social or nonsocial nature, is unlikely to account for such heterogeneity. The observed diversity also shows that conclusions about the properties of P. aeruginosa QS populations in individual CF infections cannot be drawn from the characterization of one or a few selected isolates.

scholarly journals Contribution of Quorum Sensing to the Virulence ofPseudomonas aeruginosa in Burn Wound Infections

1999 ◽  
Vol 67 (11) ◽  
pp. 5854-5862 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kendra P. Rumbaugh ◽  
John A. Griswold ◽  
Barbara H. Iglewski ◽  
Abdul N. Hamood
Keyword(s):  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Double Mutant ◽  
The Body ◽  
Burn Wound ◽  
Sensing Systems ◽  
Burned Skin ◽  
Inoculation Site ◽  
Horizontal Spread ◽  
A Site

ABSTRACT The Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum-sensing systems,las and rhl, control the production of numerous virulence factors. In this study, we have used the burned-mouse model to examine the contribution of quorum-sensing systems to the pathogenesis of P. aeruginosa infections in burn wounds. Different quorum-sensing mutants of P. aeruginosa PAO1 that were defective in the lasR, lasI, orrhlI gene or both the lasI and rhlIgenes were utilized. The following parameters of the P. aeruginosa infection were examined: (i) lethality to the burned mouse, (ii) dissemination of the P. aeruginosa strain within the body of the infected mouse (by determining the numbers of CFU of P. aeruginosa within the liver and spleen), and (iii) spread of the P. aeruginosa strain within the burned skin (by determining the numbers of CFU of P. aeruginosa at the inoculation site and at a site about 15 mm from the inoculation site [distant site]). In comparison with that of PAO1, the in vivo virulence of lasI, lasR, and rhlImutants was significantly reduced. However, the most significant reduction in in vivo virulence was seen with the lasI rhlImutant. The numbers of CFU that were recovered from the livers, spleens, and skin of mice infected with different mutants were significantly lower than those of PAO1. At 8 and 16 h post burn infection, comparable numbers of CFU of PAO1 and lasI andrhlI mutants were obtained from both the inoculation and distant sites of the burned skin of infected mice. In contrast, CFU of the lasR mutant and the lasI rhlI double mutant were recovered only from the inoculation site of infected mice at 8 and 16 h post burn infection. The ability of a plasmid carrying either the lasI or rhlI gene or the lasIand rhlI genes to complement the defect of the lasI rhlI double mutant was also examined. The presence of any of these plasmids within the lasI rhlI double mutant significantly enhanced its in vivo virulence, as well as its ability to spread within the burned skin. These results suggest that the quorum-sensing systems play an important role in the horizontal spread of P. aeruginosa within burned skin and in the dissemination of P. aeruginosa within the bodies of burned-and-infected mice and contributed to the overall virulence ofP. aeruginosa in this animal model.

scholarly journals System-level studies of a cell-free transcription-translation platform for metabolic engineering

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Y. Wu ◽  
Hirokazu Sato ◽  
Hongjun Huang ◽  
Stephanie J. Culler ◽  
Julia Khandurina ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Design Space ◽  
Product Yield ◽  
System Level ◽  
Trial And Error ◽  
Strain Development ◽  
Design Build ◽  
A Cell ◽  
Metabolic Output

AbstractCurrent methods for assembling biosynthetic pathways in microorganisms require a process of repeated trial and error and have long design-build-test cycles. We describe the use of a cell-free transcription-translation (TX-TL) system as a biomolecular breadboard for the rapid engineering of the 1,4-butanediol (BDO) pathway. We demonstrate the reliability of TX-TL as a platform for engineering biological systems by undertaking a careful characterization of its transcription and translation capabilities and provide a detailed analysis of its metabolic output. Using TX-TL to survey the design space of the BDO pathway enables rapid tuning of pathway enzyme expression levels for improved product yield. Leveraging TX-TL to screen enzyme variants for improved catalytic activity accelerates design iterations that can be directly applied to in vivo strain development.

scholarly journals Second Acyl Homoserine Lactone Production System in the Extreme Acidophile Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans

2007 ◽  
Vol 73 (10) ◽  
pp. 3225-3231 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariella Rivas ◽  
Michael Seeger ◽  
Eugenia Jedlicki ◽  
David S. Holmes
Keyword(s):  
Quorum Sensing ◽  
Acidithiobacillus Ferrooxidans ◽  
Sinorhizobium Meliloti ◽  
Homoserine Lactone ◽  
Trna Synthetase ◽  
In Vivo Studies ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Control Of Gene Expression ◽  
Sensing Systems

ABSTRACT The acidophilic proteobacterium Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is involved in the industrial biorecovery of copper. It is found in acidic environments in biofilms and is important in the biogeochemical cycling of metals and nutrients. Its genome contains a cluster of four genes, glyQ, glysS, gph, and act, that are predicted to encode the α and β subunits of glycine tRNA synthetase, a phosphatase, and an acyltransferase, respectively (GenBank accession no. DQ149607). act, cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, produces acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) principally of chain length C14 according to gas chromatography and mass spectrometry measurements. The AHLs have biological activity as shown by in vivo studies using the reporter strain Sinorhizobium meliloti Rm41 SinI−. Reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) experiments indicate that the four genes are expressed as a single transcript, demonstrating that they constitute an operon. According to semiquantitative RT-PCR results, act is expressed more highly when A. ferrooxidans is grown in medium containing iron than when it is grown in medium containing sulfur. Since AHLs are important intercellular signaling molecules used by many bacteria to monitor their population density in quorum-sensing control of gene expression, this result suggests that A. ferrooxidans has two quorum-sensing systems, one based on Act, as described herein, and the other based on a Lux-like quorum-sensing system, reported previously. The latter system was shown to be upregulated in A. ferrooxidans grown in sulfur medium, suggesting that the two quorum-sensing systems respond to different environmental signals that may be related to their abilities to colonize and use different solid sulfur- and iron-containing minerals.

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