Regulating alternative lifestyles in entomopathogenic bacteria.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria belonging to the genera Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus participate in a trilateral symbiosis in which they enable their nematode hosts to parasitize insect larvae. The bacteria switch from persisting peacefully in a nematode's digestive tract to a lifestyle in which pathways to produce insecticidal toxins, degrading enzymes to digest the insect for consumption, and antibiotics to ward off bacterial and fungal competitors are activated. This study addresses three questions: (1) What molecular signal triggers antibiotic production in the bacteria? (2) What small molecules are regulated by the signal? And (3), how do the bacteria recognize the signal? Differential metabolomic profiling in Photorhabdus luminescens TT01 and Xenorhabdus nematophila revealed that L-proline in the insect's

SUBMITTER: Crawford JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2821981 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature