Quorum sensing mediates morphology and motility transitions in the model archaeon <i>Haloferax volcanii</i>.

ABSTRACT: Quorum sensing (QS) is a mechanism of intercellular communication that enables microbes to alter gene expression and adapt to the environment. This cell-cell signaling is necessary for intra- and interspecies behaviors such as virulence and biofilm formation. While QS has been extensively studied in bacteria, little is known about cell-cell communication in archaea. Here we established an archaeal model system to study QS. We showed that for Haloferax volcanii, the transition from motile rods to non-motile disks is dependent on a possibly novel, secreted small molecule present in cell-free conditioned medium (CM). Moreover, we determined that this putative QS molecule fails to induce the morphology transition in mutants lacking the regulatory factors, DdfA and CirA. Using quantitati

SUBMITTER: Chatterjee P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11760428 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature