Quorum sensing-controlled buoyancy through gas vesicles: Intracellular bacterial microcompartments for environmental adaptation

Gas vesicles are gas-filled microcompartments produced by many cyanobacteria and haloarchaea to regulate buoyancy and control positioning in the water column. Recently we identified the first case of gas vesicle production by a member of the Enterobacteriaceae, Serratia sp ATCC39006. Gas vesicle pro...

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Main Author: Ramsay, Joshua
Format: Journal Article
Published: Landes Bioscience 2012
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7850
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author Ramsay, Joshua
author_facet Ramsay, Joshua
author_sort Ramsay, Joshua
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Gas vesicles are gas-filled microcompartments produced by many cyanobacteria and haloarchaea to regulate buoyancy and control positioning in the water column. Recently we identified the first case of gas vesicle production by a member of the Enterobacteriaceae, Serratia sp ATCC39006. Gas vesicle production enabled colonisation of the air-liquid interface and was positively regulated in low-oxygen conditions, suggesting development of these intracellular organelles is an adpative mechanism facilitating migration to the water surface. Vesicle production was also regulated by the intercellular communication molecule N‑butanoyl-L‑homoserine lactone (BHL) showing that gas vesicle production is controlled at the population level, through quorum sensing, with BHL acting as a morphogen. Gas vesicle production was also reciprocally regulated with flagella-driven swarming motility by the global regulatory protein RsmA, suggesting a fork in the regulatory pathway that controls induction of these distinct modes of mobility. Here we discuss these findings in the context of the interesting physiology of Serratia 39006 and highlight future prospects for gas vesicle research in this highly tractable strain.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-78502017-09-13T14:37:52Z Quorum sensing-controlled buoyancy through gas vesicles: Intracellular bacterial microcompartments for environmental adaptation Ramsay, Joshua Gas vesicles are gas-filled microcompartments produced by many cyanobacteria and haloarchaea to regulate buoyancy and control positioning in the water column. Recently we identified the first case of gas vesicle production by a member of the Enterobacteriaceae, Serratia sp ATCC39006. Gas vesicle production enabled colonisation of the air-liquid interface and was positively regulated in low-oxygen conditions, suggesting development of these intracellular organelles is an adpative mechanism facilitating migration to the water surface. Vesicle production was also regulated by the intercellular communication molecule N‑butanoyl-L‑homoserine lactone (BHL) showing that gas vesicle production is controlled at the population level, through quorum sensing, with BHL acting as a morphogen. Gas vesicle production was also reciprocally regulated with flagella-driven swarming motility by the global regulatory protein RsmA, suggesting a fork in the regulatory pathway that controls induction of these distinct modes of mobility. Here we discuss these findings in the context of the interesting physiology of Serratia 39006 and highlight future prospects for gas vesicle research in this highly tractable strain. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7850 10.4161/cib.18532 Landes Bioscience unknown
spellingShingle Ramsay, Joshua
Quorum sensing-controlled buoyancy through gas vesicles: Intracellular bacterial microcompartments for environmental adaptation
title Quorum sensing-controlled buoyancy through gas vesicles: Intracellular bacterial microcompartments for environmental adaptation
title_full Quorum sensing-controlled buoyancy through gas vesicles: Intracellular bacterial microcompartments for environmental adaptation
title_fullStr Quorum sensing-controlled buoyancy through gas vesicles: Intracellular bacterial microcompartments for environmental adaptation
title_full_unstemmed Quorum sensing-controlled buoyancy through gas vesicles: Intracellular bacterial microcompartments for environmental adaptation
title_short Quorum sensing-controlled buoyancy through gas vesicles: Intracellular bacterial microcompartments for environmental adaptation
title_sort quorum sensing-controlled buoyancy through gas vesicles: intracellular bacterial microcompartments for environmental adaptation
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7850