TY - JOUR
T1 - Quorum sensing controls vibrio cholerae multicellular aggregate formation
AU - Jemielita, Matthew
AU - Wingreen, Ned S.
AU - Bassler, Bonnie Lynn
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank all members of the Bassler group and Howard Stone for fruitful discussions and critical feedback. We particularly thank Jing Yan for providing plasmids and Amanda Hurley for assistance with plasmid and strain construction. This work was supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Max Planck Society-Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, NSF Grant MCB-1713731, NIH Grant 2R37GM065859 (B.L.B.), NIH Grant R01GM082938 (N.S.W.), and NSF Grant PHY-1734030 (M.J.).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018, eLife Sciences Publications Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - Bacteria communicate and collectively regulate gene expression using a process called quorum sensing (QS). QS relies on group-wide responses to signal molecules called autoinducers. Here, we show that QS activates a new program of multicellularity in Vibrio cholerae. This program, which we term aggregation, is distinct from the canonical surface-biofilm formation program, which QS represses. Aggregation is induced by autoinducers, occurs rapidly in cell suspensions, and does not require cell-division, features strikingly dissimilar from those characteristic of V. cholerae biofilm formation. Extracellular DNA limits aggregate size, but is not sufficient to drive aggregation. A mutagenesis screen identifies genes required for aggregate formation, revealing proteins involved in V. cholerae intestinal colonization, stress response, and a protein that distinguishes the current V. cholerae pandemic strain from earlier pandemic strains. We suggest that QS-controlled aggregate formation is important for V. cholerae to successfully transit between the marine niche and the human host.
AB - Bacteria communicate and collectively regulate gene expression using a process called quorum sensing (QS). QS relies on group-wide responses to signal molecules called autoinducers. Here, we show that QS activates a new program of multicellularity in Vibrio cholerae. This program, which we term aggregation, is distinct from the canonical surface-biofilm formation program, which QS represses. Aggregation is induced by autoinducers, occurs rapidly in cell suspensions, and does not require cell-division, features strikingly dissimilar from those characteristic of V. cholerae biofilm formation. Extracellular DNA limits aggregate size, but is not sufficient to drive aggregation. A mutagenesis screen identifies genes required for aggregate formation, revealing proteins involved in V. cholerae intestinal colonization, stress response, and a protein that distinguishes the current V. cholerae pandemic strain from earlier pandemic strains. We suggest that QS-controlled aggregate formation is important for V. cholerae to successfully transit between the marine niche and the human host.
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U2 - 10.7554/eLife.42057
DO - 10.7554/eLife.42057
M3 - Article
C2 - 30582742
AN - SCOPUS:85060594199
SN - 2050-084X
VL - 7
JO - eLife
JF - eLife
M1 - e42057
ER -