Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

Parallel Quorum-Sensing System In Vibrio Cholerae Prevents Signal Interference Inside The Host., Samit Watve, Kelsey Barrasso, Sarah A Jung, Kristen J Davis, Lisa A Hawver, Atul Khataokar, Ryan G Palaganas, Matthew B Neiditch, Lark Perez, Wai-Leung Ng

College of Science & Mathematics Departmental Research

Many bacteria use quorum sensing (QS) to regulate virulence factor production in response to changes in population density. QS is mediated through the production, secretion, and detection of signaling molecules called autoinducers (AIs) to modulate population-wide behavioral changes. Four histidine kinases, LuxPQ, CqsS, CqsR and VpsS, have been identified in Vibrio cholerae as QS receptors to activate virulence gene expression at low cell density. Detection of AIs by these receptors leads to virulence gene repression at high cell density. The redundancy among these receptors is puzzling since any one of the four receptors is sufficient to support colonization of V. …