Quorum Sensing in the Squid-Vibrio Symbiosis

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Subhash C. Verma¹ 

[1] Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Eberly College of Science, the Pennsylvania State University, 219 Wartik Lab, University Park, PA 16802, USA; E-Mail

关键词: quorum sensing;    symbiosis;    Vibrio fischeri;    Euprymna scolopes;    luminescence;    motility;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms140816386

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Quorum sensing is an intercellular form of communication that bacteria use to coordinate group behaviors such as biofilm formation and the production of antibiotics and virulence factors. The term quorum sensing was originally coined to describe the mechanism underlying the onset of luminescence production in cultures of the marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri. Luminescence and, more generally, quorum sensing are important for V. fischeri to form a mutualistic symbiosis with the Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes. The symbiosis is established when V. fischeri cells migrate via flagella-based motility from the surrounding seawater into a specialized structure injuvenile squid called the light organ. The cells grow to high cell densities within the light organ where the infection persists over the lifetime of the animal. A hallmark of a successful symbiosis is the luminescence produced by V. fischeri that camouflages the squid at night by eliminating its shadow within the water column. While the regulatory networks governing quorum sensing are critical for properly regulating V. fischeri luminescence within the squid light organ, they also regulate luminescence-independent processes during symbiosis. In this review, we discuss the quorum-sensing network of V. fischeri and highlight its impact at various stages during host colonization.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2013 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland