Eavesdropping and crosstalk between secreted quorum sensing peptide signals that regulate bacteriocin production in Streptococcus pneumoniae.

ABSTRACT: Quorum sensing (QS), where bacteria secrete and respond to chemical signals to coordinate population-wide behaviors, has revealed that bacteria are highly social. Here, we investigate how diversity in QS signals and receptors can modify social interactions controlled by the QS system regulating bacteriocin secretion in Streptococcus pneumoniae, encoded by the blp operon (bacteriocin-like peptide). Analysis of 4096 pneumococcal genomes detected nine blp QS signals (BlpC) and five QS receptor groups (BlpH). Imperfect concordance between signals and receptors suggested widespread social interactions between cells, specifically eavesdropping (where cells respond to signals that they do not produce) and crosstalk (where cells produce signals that non-clones detect). This was confirmed in vitro

SUBMITTER: Miller EL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6155019 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature