A Two-Component Regulatory System Mediates Quorum Sensing-Dependent Morphology and Motility Transitions in the Archaeon <i>Haloferax volcanii</i>.

ABSTRACT: Quorum sensing (QS) enables microorganisms-including bacteria, eukaryotes, and viruses-to coordinate collective behaviors in response to population density. Despite their ecological and evolutionary significance, QS mechanisms in Archaea remain poorly characterized. The halophilic archaeon Haloferax volcanii provides a model for archaeal QS, transitioning from motile rods to non-motile disks in a density-dependent response to a secreted disk-forming signal (DFS). To identify components of the DFS regulatory network, we screened for spontaneous mutants that retained motility in DFS-containing soft-agar medium. One candidate, HVO_1357, encodes a predicted response regulator located adjacent to a histidine kinase (HVO_1356) and a second response regulator (HVO_1358

SUBMITTER: Cote JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12642392 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature