scholarly journals Quorum Sensing in Escherichia coli Is Signaled by AI-2/LsrR: Effects on Small RNA and Biofilm Architecture

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (16) ◽  
pp. 6011-6020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Li ◽  
Can Attila ◽  
Liang Wang ◽  
Thomas K. Wood ◽  
James J. Valdes ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The regulatory network for the uptake of Escherichia coli autoinducer 2 (AI-2) is comprised of a transporter complex, LsrABCD; its repressor, LsrR; and a cognate signal kinase, LsrK. This network is an integral part of the AI-2 quorum-sensing (QS) system. Because LsrR and LsrK directly regulate AI-2 uptake, we hypothesized that they might play a wider role in regulating other QS-related cellular functions. In this study, we characterized physiological changes due to the genomic deletion of lsrR and lsrK. We discovered that many genes were coregulated by lsrK and lsrR but in a distinctly different manner than that for the lsr operon (where LsrR serves as a repressor that is derepressed by the binding of phospho-AI-2 to the LsrR protein). An extended model for AI-2 signaling that is consistent with all current data on AI-2, LuxS, and the LuxS regulon is proposed. Additionally, we found that both the quantity and architecture of biofilms were regulated by this distinct mechanism, as lsrK and lsrR knockouts behaved identically. Similar biofilm architectures probably resulted from the concerted response of a set of genes including flu and wza, the expression of which is influenced by lsrRK. We also found for the first time that the generation of several small RNAs (including DsrA, which was previously linked to QS systems in Vibrio harveyi) was affected by LsrR. Our results suggest that AI-2 is indeed a QS signal in E. coli, especially when it acts through the transcriptional regulator LsrR.

2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (18) ◽  
pp. 5239-5247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew P. DeLisa ◽  
Chi-Fang Wu ◽  
Liang Wang ◽  
James J. Valdes ◽  
William E. Bentley

ABSTRACT Bacterial cell-to-cell communication facilitates coordinated expression of specific genes in a growth rate-II and cell density-dependent manner, a process known as quorum sensing. While the discovery of a diffusible Escherichia coli signaling pheromone, termed autoinducer 2 (AI-2), has been made along with several quorum sensing genes, the overall number and coordination of genes controlled by quorum sensing through the AI-2 signal has not been studied systematically. We investigated global changes in mRNA abundance elicited by the AI-2 signaling molecule through the use of aluxS mutant that was unable to synthesize AI-2. Remarkably, 242 genes, comprising ca. 5.6% of the E. coli genome, exhibited significant transcriptional changes (either induction or repression) in response to a 300-fold AI-2 signaling differential, with many of the identified genes displaying high induction levels (more than fivefold). Significant induction of ygeV, a putative ς54-dependent transcriptional activator, andyhbH, a ς54 modulating protein, suggests ς54 may be involved in E. coli quorum sensing.


2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leanid Laganenka ◽  
Remy Colin ◽  
Victor Sourjik

Abstract Bacteria communicate by producing and sensing extracellular signal molecules called autoinducers. Such intercellular signalling, known as quorum sensing, allows bacteria to coordinate and synchronize behavioural responses at high cell densities. Autoinducer 2 (AI-2) is the only known quorum-sensing molecule produced by Escherichia coli but its physiological role remains elusive, although it is known to regulate biofilm formation and virulence in other bacterial species. Here we show that chemotaxis towards self-produced AI-2 can mediate collective behaviour—autoaggregation—of E. coli. Autoaggregation requires motility and is strongly enhanced by chemotaxis to AI-2 at physiological cell densities. These effects are observed regardless whether cell–cell interactions under particular growth conditions are mediated by the major E. coli adhesin (antigen 43) or by curli fibres. Furthermore, AI-2-dependent autoaggregation enhances bacterial stress resistance and promotes biofilm formation.


2004 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 2038-2043 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dacheng Ren ◽  
Laura A. Bedzyk ◽  
Rick W. Ye ◽  
Stuart M. Thomas ◽  
Thomas K. Wood

ABSTRACT 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.


2001 ◽  
Vol 183 (17) ◽  
pp. 5187-5197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Sperandio ◽  
Alfredo G. Torres ◽  
Jorge A. Girón ◽  
James B. Kaper

ABSTRACT Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) O157:H7 is responsible for outbreaks of bloody diarrhea and hemolytic-uremic syndrome in many countries. EHEC virulence mechanisms include the production of Shiga toxins (Stx) and formation of attaching and effacing (AE) lesions on intestinal epithelial cells. We recently reported that genes involved in the formation of the AE lesion were regulated by quorum sensing through autoinducer-2, which is synthesized by the product of the luxS gene. In this study we hybridized an E. coli gene array with cDNA synthesized from RNA that was extracted from EHEC strain 86-24 and its isogenicluxS mutant. We observed that 404 genes were regulated by luxS at least fivefold, which comprises approximately 10% of the array genes; 235 of these genes were up-regulated and 169 were down-regulated in the wild-type strain compared to in theluxS mutant. Down-regulated genes included several involved in cell division, as well as ribosomal and tRNA genes. Consistent with this pattern of gene expression, theluxS mutant grows faster than the wild-type strain (generation times of 37.5 and 60 min, respectively, in Dulbecco modified Eagle medium). Up-regulated genes included several involved in the expression and assembly of flagella, motility, and chemotaxis. Using operon::lacZ fusions to class I, II, and III flagellar genes, we were able to confirm this transcriptional regulation. We also observed fewer flagella by Western blotting and electron microscopy and decreased motility halos in semisolid agar in the luxS mutant. The average swimming speeds for the wild-type strain and the luxS mutant are 12.5 and 6.6 μm/s, respectively. We also observed an increase in the production of Stx due to quorum sensing. Genes encoding Stx, which are transcribed along with λ-like phage genes, are induced by an SOS response, and genes involved in the SOS response were also regulated by quorum sensing. These results indicate that quorum sensing is a global regulatory mechanism for basic physiological functions of E. coli as well as for virulence factors.


mBio ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amin Zargar ◽  
David N. Quan ◽  
Karen K. Carter ◽  
Min Guo ◽  
Herman O. Sintim ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThere have been many studies on the relationship between nonpathogenic bacteria and human epithelial cells; however, the bidirectional effects of the secretomes (secreted substances in which there is no direct bacterium-cell contact) have yet to be fully investigated. In this study, we use a transwell model to explore the transcriptomic effects of bacterial secretions from two different nonpathogenicEscherichia colistrains on the human colonic cell line HCT-8 using next-generation transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq).E. coliBL21 and W3110, while genetically very similar (99.1% homology), exhibit key phenotypic differences, including differences in their production of macromolecular structures (e.g., flagella and lipopolysaccharide) and in their secretion of metabolic byproducts (e.g., acetate) and signaling molecules (e.g., quorum-sensing autoinducer 2 [AI-2]). After analysis of differential epithelial responses to the respective secretomes, this study shows for the first time that a nonpathogenic bacterial secretome activates the NF-κB-mediated cytokine-cytokine receptor pathways while also upregulating negative-feedback components, including the NOD-like signaling pathway. Because of AI-2's relevance as a bacterium-bacterium signaling molecule and the differences in its secretion rates between these strains, we investigated its role in HCT-8 cells. We found that the expression of the inflammatory cytokine interleukin 8 (IL-8) responded to AI-2 with a pattern of rapid upregulation before subsequent downregulation after 24 h. Collectively, these data demonstrate that secreted products from nonpathogenic bacteria stimulate the transcription of immune-related biological pathways, followed by the upregulation of negative-feedback elements that may serve to temper the inflammatory response.IMPORTANCEThe symbiotic relationship between the microbiome and the host is important in the maintenance of human health. There is a growing need to further understand the nature of these relationships to aid in the development of homeostatic probiotics and also in the design of novel antimicrobial therapeutics. To our knowledge, this is the first global-transcriptome study of bacteria cocultured with human epithelial cells in a model to determine the transcriptional effects of epithelial cells in which epithelial and bacterial cells are allowed to “communicate” with each other only through diffusible small molecules and proteins. By beginning to demarcate the direct and indirect effects of bacteria on the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, two-way interkingdom communication can potentially be mediated between host and microbe.


1982 ◽  
Vol 152 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-34
Author(s):  
M Leduc ◽  
R Kasra ◽  
J van Heijenoort

Various methods of inducing autolysis of Escherichia coli cells were investigated, some being described here for the first time. For the autolysis of growing cells only induction methods interfering with the biosynthesis of peptidoglycan were taken into consideration, whereas with harvested cells autolysis was induced by rapid osmotic or EDTA shock treatments. The highest rates of autolysis were observed after induction by moenomycin, EDTA, or cephaloridine. The different autolyses examined shared certain common properties. In particular, regardless of the induction method used, more or less extensive peptidoglycan degradation was observed, and 10(-2) M Mg2+ efficiently inhibited the autolytic process. However, for other properties a distinction was made between methods used for growing cells and those used for harvested cells. Autolysis of growing cells required RNA, protein, and fatty acid synthesis. No such requirements were observed with shock-induced autolysis performed with harvested cells. Thus, the effects of Mg2+, rifampicin, chloramphenicol, and cerulenin clearly suggest that distinct factors are involved in the control of the autolytic system of E. Coli. Uncoupling agents such as sodium azide, 2,4-dinitrophenol, and carbonyl-cyanide-m-chlorophenyl hydrazone used at their usual inhibiting concentration had no effect on the cephaloridine or shock-induced autolysis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1934578X1801300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ngonye Keroletswe ◽  
Runner R. T. Majinda ◽  
Ishmael B. Masesane

One new 3-prenyl-2-flavene, named baphiflavene A, 1, and eleven known compounds, 2-12, were isolated and reported for the first time from Baphia massaiensis using several chromatographic techniques. Their structures were elucidated using different spectroscopic techniques; 1D and 2D-NMR, HRMS, GC-MS, UV/Vis, FTIR and by comparison with literature data. The isolates were tested against Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli and Candida albicans to establish their preliminary antimicrobial activities. The results revealed that compound 1 had moderate activities against both Gram positive ( B. subtilis and S. aureus) and Gram negative ( E. coli and P. aeruginosa) bacteria, and good activity against C. albicans with inhibition zones of 10–23 mm (compared to 19 mm for chloramphenicol and miconazole standards). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first phytochemical work reported on Baphia massaiensis.


2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oumar Ouchar Mahamat ◽  
Manon Lounnas ◽  
Mallorie Hide ◽  
Abelsalam Tidjani ◽  
Julio Benavides ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We detected for the first time blaNDM-5 and blaOXA-181 in Escherichia coli isolates from hospitalized patients and healthy volunteers in Chad. These resistance genes were located on IncX3 and IncF plasmids. Despite the large diversity of E. coli clones, the identified resistant intestinal isolates belonged mainly to the same sequence type.


2008 ◽  
Vol 190 (20) ◽  
pp. 6598-6608 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tina Jaeger ◽  
Christoph Mayer

ABSTRACT The MurNAc etherase MurQ of Escherichia coli is essential for the catabolism of the bacterial cell wall sugar N-acetylmuramic acid (MurNAc) obtained either from the environment or from the endogenous cell wall (i.e., recycling). High-level expression of murQ is required for growth on MurNAc as the sole source of carbon and energy, whereas constitutive low-level expression of murQ is sufficient for the recycling of peptidoglycan fragments continuously released from the cell wall during growth of the bacteria. Here we characterize for the first time the expression of murQ and its regulation by MurR, a member of the poorly characterized RpiR/AlsR family of transcriptional regulators. Deleting murR abolished the extensive lag phase observed for E. coli grown on MurNAc and enhanced murQ transcription some 20-fold. MurR forms a stable multimer (most likely a tetramer) and binds to two adjacent inverted repeats within an operator region. In this way MurR represses transcription from the murQ promoter and also interferes with its own transcription. MurNAc-6-phosphate, the substrate of MurQ, was identified as a specific inducer that weakens binding of MurR to the operator. Moreover, murQ transcription depends on the activation by cyclic AMP (cAMP)-catabolite activator protein (CAP) bound to a class I site upstream of the murQ promoter. murR and murQ are divergently orientated and expressed from nonoverlapping face-to-face (convergent) promoters, yielding transcripts that are complementary at their 5′ ends. As a consequence of this unusual promoter arrangement, cAMP-CAP also affects murR transcription, presumably by acting as a roadblock for RNA polymerase.


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