Laasik Eve, Andresen Liis, Mäe Andres
Department of Genetics, Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Tartu University, Estonian Biocenter, Tartu, Estonia.
FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2006 May;258(2):227-34. doi: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2006.00222.x.
Quorum sensing is a process by which bacteria communicate using secreted chemical signaling molecules called autoinducers. In this study, the opportunistic plant pathogen Erwinia carotovora ssp. carotovora was observed to secrete type II signaling molecules. A homolog of luxS, the gene required for AI-2 synthesis in Vibrio harveyi, was isolated from the genome of the pathogen. To determine the potential role of AI-2 in virulence, an isogenic luxS- (ECC) mutant was constructed and tested for its ability to cause tissue maceration. The findings reported here demonstrate that the LuxS-dependent signaling affects the progression of disease symptoms during the early stages of infection by modulating the expression of pectinolytic enzymes.
群体感应是细菌利用称为自诱导物的分泌化学信号分子进行通信的过程。在本研究中，观察到机会性植物病原菌胡萝卜软腐欧文氏菌胡萝卜软腐亚种分泌II型信号分子。从该病原菌的基因组中分离出了哈氏弧菌中AI-2合成所需基因luxS的一个同源物。为了确定AI-2在毒力中的潜在作用，构建了一个同基因luxS缺失（ECC）突变体，并测试了其引起组织浸解的能力。此处报道的研究结果表明，依赖LuxS的信号传导通过调节果胶分解酶的表达，在感染早期影响疾病症状的进展。
