Natural Silencing of Quorum-Sensing Activity Protects Vibrio parahaemolyticus from Lysis by an Autoinducer-Detecting Phage.

ABSTRACT: Quorum sensing (QS) is a chemical communication process that bacteria use to track population density and orchestrate collective behaviors. QS relies on the production, accumulation, and group-wide detection of extracellular signal molecules called autoinducers. Vibriophage 882 (phage VP882), a bacterial virus, encodes a homolog of the Vibrio QS receptor-transcription factor, called VqmA, that monitors the Vibrio QS autoinducer DPO. Phage VqmA binds DPO at high host-cell density and activates transcription of the phage gene qtip . Qtip, an antirepressor, launches the phage lysis program. Phage-encoded VqmA when bound to DPO also manipulates host QS by activating transcription of the host gene vqmR . VqmR is a small RNA that controls downstream QS target genes. H

SUBMITTER: Duddy OP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10274711 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature