AinS quorum sensing regulates the Vibrio fischeri acetate switch.

ABSTRACT: The marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri uses two acyl-homoserine lactone (acyl-HSL) quorum-sensing systems. The earlier signal, octanoyl-HSL, produced by AinS, is required for normal colonization of the squid Euprymna scolopes and, in culture, is necessary for a normal growth yield. In examining the latter requirement, we found that during growth in a glycerol/tryptone-based medium, wild-type V. fischeri cells initially excrete acetate but, in a metabolic shift termed the acetate switch, they subsequently utilize the acetate, removing it from the medium. In contrast, an ainS mutant strain grown in this medium does not remove the excreted acetate, which accumulates to lethal levels. The acetate switch is characterized by the induction of acs, the gene encoding acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) sy

SUBMITTER: Studer SV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2519518 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature