Indole production promotes Escherichia coli mixed-culture growth with Pseudomonas aeruginosa by inhibiting quorum signaling.

ABSTRACT: Indole production by Escherichia coli, discovered in the early 20th century, has been used as a diagnostic marker for distinguishing E. coli from other enteric bacteria. By using transcriptional profiling and competition studies with defined mutants, we show that cyclic AMP (cAMP)-regulated indole formation is a major factor that enables E. coli growth in mixed biofilm and planktonic populations with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Mutants deficient in cAMP production (cyaA) or the cAMP receptor gene (crp), as well as indole production (tnaA), were not competitive in coculture with P. aeruginosa but could be restored to wild-type competitiveness by supplementation with a physiologically relevant indole concentration. E. coli sdiA mutants, which lacked the receptor for both indole and N-acyl-homose

SUBMITTER: Chu W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3255741 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature