Bis-(3'-5')-cyclic dimeric GMP-linked quorum sensing controls swarming in Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

ABSTRACT: Movement over and colonization of surfaces are important survival strategies for bacteria, and many find it advantageous to perform these activities as a group, using quorum sensing to sample population size and synchronize behavior. It is puzzling however, that swarming-proficient and virulent strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus are silenced for the vibrio archetypal pathway of quorum sensing. Here we describe the S-signal, a pheromone that can be communicated between cells in coculture to regulate surface colonization. This signal was harvested in cell-free supernatants and demonstrated to stimulate swarming gene expression at low cell density. The S-signal was generated by the pyridoxal phosphate-dependent aminotransferase ScrA; signal reception required the periplasmic binding protein S

SUBMITTER: Trimble MJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3207653 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature