TY - JOUR
T1 - Quorum sensing has an unexpected role in virulence in the model pathogen Citrobacter rodentium
AU - Coulthrust, Sarah J.
AU - Clare, Simon
AU - Evans, Terry J.
AU - Foulds, Ian J.
AU - Roberts, Kevin J.
AU - Welch, Martin
AU - Dougan, Gordon
AU - Salmond, George P.C.
PY - 2007/7/1
Y1 - 2007/7/1
N2 - The bacterial mouse pathogen Citrobacter rodentium causes attaching and effacing (AE) lesions in the same manner as pathogenic Escherichia coli, and is an important model for this mode of pathogenesis. Quorum sensing (QS) involves chemical signalling by bacteria to regulate gene expression in response to cell density. E. coli has never been reported to have N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) QS, but it does utilize luxSdependent signalling. We found production of AHL QS signalling molecules by an AE pathogen, C. rodentium. AHL QS is directed by the croIR locus and a croI mutant is affected in its surface attachment, although not in Type III secretion. AHL QS has an important role in virulence in the mouse as, unexpectedly, the QS mutant is hypervirulent; by contrast, we detected no impact of luxS inactivation. Further study of QS in Citrobacter should provide new insights into AE pathogenesis. As the croIR locus might have been horizontally acquired, AHL QS might exist in some strains of pathogenic E. coli.
AB - The bacterial mouse pathogen Citrobacter rodentium causes attaching and effacing (AE) lesions in the same manner as pathogenic Escherichia coli, and is an important model for this mode of pathogenesis. Quorum sensing (QS) involves chemical signalling by bacteria to regulate gene expression in response to cell density. E. coli has never been reported to have N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) QS, but it does utilize luxSdependent signalling. We found production of AHL QS signalling molecules by an AE pathogen, C. rodentium. AHL QS is directed by the croIR locus and a croI mutant is affected in its surface attachment, although not in Type III secretion. AHL QS has an important role in virulence in the mouse as, unexpectedly, the QS mutant is hypervirulent; by contrast, we detected no impact of luxS inactivation. Further study of QS in Citrobacter should provide new insights into AE pathogenesis. As the croIR locus might have been horizontally acquired, AHL QS might exist in some strains of pathogenic E. coli.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/34447092010
U2 - 10.1038/sj.embor.7400984
DO - 10.1038/sj.embor.7400984
M3 - Article
C2 - 17557113
AN - SCOPUS:34447092010
SN - 1469-221X
VL - 8
SP - 698
EP - 703
JO - EMBO Reports
JF - EMBO Reports
IS - 7
ER -