Schuster Martin, Sexton D Joseph, Hense Burkhard A
Department of Microbiology, Oregon State UniversityCorvallis, OR, United States.
Institute of Computational Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum MünchenNeuherberg, Germany.
Front Microbiol. 2017 May 19;8:885. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.00885. eCollection 2017.
Cell-cell communication, also termed quorum sensing (QS), is a widespread process that coordinates gene expression in bacterial populations. The generally accepted view is that QS optimizes the cell density-dependent benefit attained from cooperative behaviors, often in the form of secreted products referred to as "public goods." This view is challenged by an increasing number of cell-associated products or "private goods" reported to be under QS-control for which a collective benefit is not apparent. A prominent example is nucleoside hydrolase from , a periplasmic enzyme that catabolizes adenosine. Several recent studies have shown that private goods can function to stabilize cooperation by co-regulated public goods, seemingly explaining their control by QS. Here we argue that this property is a by-product of selection for other benefits rather than an adaptation. Emphasizing ecophysiological context, we propose alternative explanations for the QS control of private goods. We suggest that the benefit attained from private goods is associated with high cell density, either because a relevant ecological condition correlates with density, or because the private good is, directly or indirectly, involved in cooperative behavior. Our analysis helps guide a systems approach to QS, with implications for antivirulence drug design and synthetic biology.
细胞间通讯，也称为群体感应（QS），是一种广泛存在的过程，可协调细菌群体中的基因表达。普遍接受的观点是，群体感应优化了从合作行为中获得的细胞密度依赖性益处，这种益处通常以被称为“公共物品”的分泌产物形式存在。越来越多据报道受群体感应控制的细胞相关产物或“私人物品”的出现对这一观点提出了挑战，而这些私人物品的集体益处并不明显。一个突出的例子是来自[具体来源未提及]的核苷水解酶，它是一种分解腺苷的周质酶。最近的几项研究表明，私人物品可以通过共同调节公共物品来稳定合作，这似乎解释了它们受群体感应控制的原因。在这里，我们认为这种特性是为了其他益处而进行选择的副产品，而非一种适应性。强调生态生理背景，我们提出了对私人物品群体感应控制的其他解释。我们认为，从私人物品中获得的益处与高细胞密度相关，这要么是因为相关的生态条件与密度相关，要么是因为私人物品直接或间接地参与了合作行为。我们的分析有助于指导群体感应的系统研究方法，对抗毒力药物设计和合成生物学具有启示意义。
