Otto M, Süssmuth R, Jung G, Götz F
Mikrobielle Genetik, Universität Tübingen, Germany.
FEBS Lett. 1998 Mar 6;424(1-2):89-94. doi: 10.1016/s0014-5793(98)00145-8.
The agr quorum-sensing system is responsible for the regulation of several virulence factors in staphylococci, with an extracellular pheromone peptide as signalling molecule. By monitoring the biological activity of synthetic peptides, it could be demonstrated that the pheromone of the agr system in Staphylococcus epidermidis is an octapeptide containing a thiolester linkage between the central cysteine and the C-terminal carboxyl group. The peptide was active at nanomolar concentrations. The N-terminus of the peptide pheromone, which is encoded as part of a protein precursor, proved to be crucial for biological activity.
agr群体感应系统负责调控葡萄球菌中的多种毒力因子，以一种细胞外信息素肽作为信号分子。通过监测合成肽的生物活性，可以证明表皮葡萄球菌中agr系统的信息素是一种八肽，其中心半胱氨酸与C端羧基之间存在硫酯键。该肽在纳摩尔浓度下具有活性。作为蛋白质前体一部分编码的肽信息素的N端被证明对生物活性至关重要。
