National Engineering Research Center of Navel Orange, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou, 341000, PR China.
State Key Laboratory of Efficient Utilization of Arid and Semi-arid Arable Land in Northern China, the Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 100081, Beijing, PR China.
NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2024 Nov 3;10(1):117. doi: 10.1038/s41522-024-00594-6.
The collective behavior of bacteria is regulated by quorum sensing (QS). Autoinducer-2 (AI-2) is a common QS signal that regulates the behavior of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Despite the plethora of processes described to be influenced by AI-2 in diverse Gram-negative bacteria, the AI-2-regulated processes in Bacilli are relatively unexplored. Here, we describe a novel function for AI-2 in Bacillus velezensis SQR9 related to the sporulation. AI-2 inhibited the initiation of sporulation through the phosphatase RapC and the DNA binding regulator ComA. Using biochemistry experiments, we demonstrated that AI-2 interacts with RapC to stimulate its binding to ComA, which leads to an inactive ComA and subsequently a sporulation inhibition. The AI-2 molecule could be shared across species for inhibiting Bacillus sporulation and it also plays the same role in different soil conditions. Our study revealed a novel function and regulatory mechanism of AI-2 in inhibiting sporulation in Bacilli.
群体感应(QS)调控细菌的集体行为。双(酰)基高丝氨酸内酯(AI-2)是一种常见的 QS 信号,可调节革兰氏阳性菌和革兰氏阴性菌的行为。尽管有大量的研究描述了 AI-2 在不同的革兰氏阴性菌中对各种过程的影响,但芽孢杆菌中 AI-2 调控的过程相对较少。在这里,我们描述了一种新型的 AI-2 功能,它与芽孢杆菌 SQR9 的孢子形成有关。AI-2 通过磷酸酶 RapC 和 DNA 结合调控因子 ComA 抑制孢子形成的起始。通过生化实验,我们证明 AI-2 与 RapC 相互作用,刺激其与 ComA 结合,导致 ComA 失活,进而抑制孢子形成。AI-2 分子可以在不同物种之间共享,以抑制芽孢杆菌的孢子形成,并且在不同的土壤条件下也发挥相同的作用。我们的研究揭示了 AI-2 在抑制芽孢杆菌孢子形成中的新型功能和调控机制。