Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 5, 2026

Development of a Polymicrobial Colony Biofilm Model to Test Antimicrobials in Cystic Fibrosis
07:16

Development of a Polymicrobial Colony Biofilm Model to Test Antimicrobials in Cystic Fibrosis

Published on: September 20, 2024

1.8K

The PqsE and RhlR proteins are an autoinducer synthase-receptor pair that control virulence and biofilm development

Sampriti Mukherjee1, Dina A Moustafa2,3, Vasiliki Stergioula1

  • 1Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
|September 19, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Researchers identified PqsE as a key enzyme in Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing (QS). PqsE produces an alternative autoinducer, crucial for virulence gene expression and bacterial group behaviors, offering a potential therapeutic target.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Molecular Biology
  • Bacterial Pathogenesis

Background:

  • Pseudomonas aeruginosa causes severe hospital-acquired infections.
  • Bacterial virulence is often regulated by quorum sensing (QS), a cell-to-cell communication system.
  • P. aeruginosa has two main QS systems, LasI/R and RhlI/R, but RhlR also controls genes independently of RhlI.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the alternative ligand and synthase involved in RhlR-mediated QS.
  • To elucidate the role of this alternative ligand in P. aeruginosa virulence.
  • To explore PqsE as a potential therapeutic target.

Main Methods:

  • Biofilm analyses
  • Reporter assays
  • Site-directed mutagenesis
  • Protein biochemistry
  • Animal infection studies

Main Results:

  • PqsE was identified as the synthase for an alternative autoinducer.
  • This PqsE-produced autoinducer is essential for virulence gene expression.
  • PqsE and RhlR form a functional QS-autoinducer synthase-receptor pair.

Conclusions:

  • PqsE is a critical component of a novel QS pathway in P. aeruginosa.
  • Targeting PqsE offers a promising strategy for combating P. aeruginosa infections.
  • This discovery deepens our understanding of bacterial group behaviors and virulence regulation.
Keywords:
Pseudomonas aeruginosaantimicrobialbiofilmsquorum sensingvirulence

More Related Videos

Methods for Characterizing the Co-development of Biofilm and Habitat Heterogeneity09:21

Methods for Characterizing the Co-development of Biofilm and Habitat Heterogeneity

Published on: March 11, 2015

10.6K
Anti-virulent Disruption of Pathogenic Biofilms using Engineered Quorum-quenching Lactonases07:47

Anti-virulent Disruption of Pathogenic Biofilms using Engineered Quorum-quenching Lactonases

Published on: January 1, 2016

12.1K

Related Concept Videos

G-protein Coupled Receptors01:21

G-protein Coupled Receptors

G-protein coupled receptors are ligand binding receptors that indirectly affect changes in the cell. The actual receptor is a single polypeptide that transverses the cell membrane seven times creating intracellular and extracellular loops. The extracellular loops create a ligand specific pocket which binds to neurotransmitters or hormones. The intracellular loops holds onto the G-protein.
132.0K
G Protein-coupled Receptors01:15

G Protein-coupled Receptors

G Protein-Coupled Receptors or GPCRs are membrane-bound receptors that transiently associate with heterotrimeric G proteins and induce an appropriate response to sensory stimuli such as light, odors, hormones, cytokines, or neurotransmitters.
GPCRs are also called heptahelical, 7TM, or serpentine receptors, and consist of seven (H1-H7) transmembrane alpha-helices that span the bilayer to form a cylindrical core. The transmembrane helices are connected by three extracellular loops and three...
17.0K
ATP Synthase: Structure01:18

ATP Synthase: Structure

ATP synthase or ATPase is among the most conserved proteins found in bacteria, mammals, and plants. This enzyme can catalyze a forward reaction in response to the electrochemical gradient, producing ATP from ADP and inorganic phosphate. ATP synthase can also work in a reverse direction by hydrolyzing ATP and generating an electrochemical gradient. Different forms of ATP synthases have evolved special features to meet the specific demands of the cell. Based on their specific feature, ATP...
15.6K
ATP Synthase: Mechanism01:48

ATP Synthase: Mechanism

In animals, the mitochondrial F1F0 ATP synthase is the key protein that synthesizes ATP molecules through a complex catalytic mechanism. While the nuclear genome encodes the majority of ATP synthase subunits, the mitochondrial genome encodes some of the enzyme's most critical components. The formation of this multi-subunit enzyme is a complex multi-step process regulated at the level of transcription, translation, and assembly. Defects in one or more of these steps can result in decreased...
17.2K
DNA Base Pairing02:27

DNA Base Pairing

Erwin Chargaff’s rules on DNA equivalence paved the way for the discovery of base pairing in DNA. Chargaff’s rules state that in a double-stranded DNA molecule,
33.3K
Sign Test for Matched Pairs01:17

Sign Test for Matched Pairs

The sign test for matched pairs offers a robust method for comparing two paired samples, often for the effects of an intervention in one of them. This method is very useful in situations where the underlying distribution of the data is unknown. The test compares two related samples—often pre- and post-treatment measurements on the same subjects—to determine if there are significant differences in their median values.
To conduct the sign test, we first calculate the differences in...
414