A Bacterial Quorum-Sensing Precursor Induces Mortality in the Marine Coccolithophore, Emiliania huxleyi.

ABSTRACT: Interactions between phytoplankton and bacteria play a central role in mediating biogeochemical cycling and food web structure in the ocean. However, deciphering the chemical drivers of these interspecies interactions remains challenging. Here, we report the isolation of 2-heptyl-4-quinolone (HHQ), released by Pseudoalteromonas piscicida, a marine gamma-proteobacteria previously reported to induce phytoplankton mortality through a hitherto unknown algicidal mechanism. HHQ functions as both an antibiotic and a bacterial signaling molecule in cell-cell communication in clinical infection models. Co-culture of the bloom-forming coccolithophore, Emiliania huxleyi with both live P. piscicida and cell-free filtrates caused a significant decrease in algal growth. Investigations of the P. piscicid

SUBMITTER: Harvey EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4737879 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature