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Quantifying the integration of quorum-sensing signals with single-cell resolution
Tao Long1, Kimberly C Tu, Yufang Wang
1Department of Physics, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ, USA.
Plos Biology
|March 27, 2009
Summary
Bacteria use multiple signals for quorum sensing, but how they integrate these signals was unknown. This study shows Vibrio harveyi additively integrates two autoinducers (AI-1 and AI-2) for coordinated gene expression.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Bacterial cell-to-cell communication, or quorum sensing, involves signaling molecules called autoinducers.
- Bacteria often utilize multiple autoinducers to sense population density, but signal integration mechanisms are poorly understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how Vibrio harveyi integrates signals from multiple autoinducers.
- To elucidate the mechanism of multi-autoinducer signal integration in a model quorum-sensing bacterium.
Main Methods:
- Single-cell fluorescence microscopy was employed to quantify bacterial responses.
- Analysis of signaling responses and autoinducer integration in Vibrio harveyi.
Main Results:
- Signals from two autoinducers, AI-1 and AI-2, are integrated additively in a shared phosphorelay pathway.
- Each autoinducer contributes nearly equally to the overall cellular response.
- A coherent population-wide response with minimal cell-to-cell variation was observed.
Conclusions:
- Vibrio harveyi exhibits a robust additive integration of multiple autoinducer signals.
- This mechanism allows bacterial populations to reliably distinguish varying external autoinducer concentrations.
- The integration of multiple signals may synchronize gene expression for distinct developmental stages in growing bacterial populations.
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