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Bacterial quorum sensing orchestrates longitudinal interactions to shape microbiota assembly
Ying Su1,2, Ming-Ying Xu1,3, Ying Cui1,2
1Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, 510080, China.
Microbiome
|November 5, 2023
Summary
Bacterial quorum sensing (QS) networks regulate oral microbiota assembly. Interfering with these QS networks alters microbial community structure and maturity, offering new manipulation strategies.
Area of Science:
- Microbiome Research
- Microbial Ecology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Microbiota assembly mechanisms are crucial for understanding and manipulating microbial communities.
- Bacterial quorum sensing (QS) is a key intercellular communication system with potential roles in microbiota assembly.
- The regulatory role of QS in human microbiota assembly remains largely unexplored.
Discussion:
- A novel in vitro oral biofilm microbiota assembling (OBMA) model was developed to study time-series assembly.
- The study identified a longitudinal QS network with sequentially enriched QS pathways and hubs.
- QS network cross-talk influences microbial community structure and assembly dynamics.
Key Insights:
- Discovered 2291 QS protein homologues across 21 QS pathways, many newly reported and sequentially enriched.
- Identified key QS hubs (e.g., Streptococcus, Veillonella-Megasphaera, Prevotella-Fusobacteria) forming a longitudinal network.
- QS interference experiments validated the network's predictive and manipulative power on OBM assembly.
Outlook:
- The findings provide a new perspective on the mechanisms of complex microbiota assembly.
- This research offers a theoretical foundation for precise human microbiota manipulation via QS network intervention.
- Further studies can explore QS-based interventions for targeted microbiome modulation.
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