luxS mutants of Serratia defective in autoinducer-2-dependent ‘quorum sensing’ show strain-dependent impacts on virulence and production of carbapenem and prodigiosin

DOI Web Site 被引用文献2件
  • Sarah J. Coulthurst
    Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK
  • C. Léopold Kurz
    Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille Luminy, Case 906, 13288 Marseille-Cedex 9, France
  • George P. C. Salmond
    Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK

抄録

<jats:p>The enzyme LuxS is responsible for the production of autoinducer-2 (AI-2), a molecule that has been implicated in quorum sensing in many bacterial species. This study investigated whether there is a<jats:italic>luxS</jats:italic>-dependent signalling system in the Gram-negative bacteria<jats:italic>Serratia</jats:italic>spp.<jats:italic>Serratia marcescens</jats:italic>is a broad-host-range pathogen and an important cause of nosocomial infections. Production of AI-2 activity was detected in<jats:italic>S. marcescens</jats:italic>ATCC 274 and<jats:italic>Serratia</jats:italic>ATCC 39006 and their<jats:italic>luxS</jats:italic>genes were sequenced.<jats:italic>luxS</jats:italic>mutants were constructed in these strains and were analysed to determine which phenotypes are regulated by<jats:italic>luxS</jats:italic>and therefore, potentially, by AI-2. The phenotypes of the<jats:italic>luxS</jats:italic>mutants included decreased carbapenem antibiotic production in<jats:italic>Serratia</jats:italic>ATCC 39006 and decreased prodigiosin and secreted haemolysin production in<jats:italic>S. marcescens</jats:italic>ATCC 274. The<jats:italic>luxS</jats:italic>mutant of<jats:italic>S. marcescens</jats:italic>ATCC 274 was also found to exhibit modestly reduced virulence in a<jats:italic>Caenorhabditis elegans</jats:italic>model. Finally, it was shown that the culture supernatant of a wild-type strain contains a signal, presumably AI-2, capable of complementing the prodigiosin defect of the<jats:italic>luxS</jats:italic>mutant of another strain, even when substantially diluted. It is concluded that<jats:italic>luxS</jats:italic>modulates virulence and antibiotic production in<jats:italic>Serratia</jats:italic>, in a strain-dependent manner, and that, for at least one phenotype, this regulation is via extracellular signalling.</jats:p>

収録刊行物

  • Microbiology

    Microbiology 150 (6), 1901-1910, 2004-06-01

    Microbiology Society

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