Discovery of a nitric oxide responsive quorum sensing circuit in vibrio harveyi
Bacteria use small molecules to assess the density and identity of nearby organisms and formulate a response. This process, called quorum sensing (QS), commonly regulates bioluminescence, biofilm formation, and virulence. Vibrio harveyi have three described QS circuits. Each involves the synthesis o...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Journal Article |
| Published: |
2012
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7961 |
| _version_ | 1848745519507046400 |
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| author | Henares, Bernadette Higgins, K. Boon, E. |
| author_facet | Henares, Bernadette Higgins, K. Boon, E. |
| author_sort | Henares, Bernadette |
| building | Curtin Institutional Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Bacteria use small molecules to assess the density and identity of nearby organisms and formulate a response. This process, called quorum sensing (QS), commonly regulates bioluminescence, biofilm formation, and virulence. Vibrio harveyi have three described QS circuits. Each involves the synthesis of a molecule that regulates phosphorylation of its cognate receptor kinase. Each receptor exchanges phosphate with a common phosphorelay protein, LuxU, which ultimately regulates bioluminescence. Here, we show that another small molecule, nitric oxide (NO), participates in QS through LuxU. V. harveyi display a NO concentration-dependent increase in bioluminescence that is regulated by an hnoX gene. We demonstrate that H-NOX is a NO sensor and NO/H-NOX regulates phosphorylation of a kinase that transfers phosphate to LuxU. This study reveals the discovery of a fourth QS pathway in V. harveyi and suggests that bacteria use QS to integrate not only the density of bacteria but also other diverse information about their environment into decisions about gene expression. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:18:39Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | curtin-20.500.11937-7961 |
| institution | Curtin University Malaysia |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T06:18:39Z |
| publishDate | 2012 |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | curtin-20.500.11937-79612017-09-13T14:37:00Z Discovery of a nitric oxide responsive quorum sensing circuit in vibrio harveyi Henares, Bernadette Higgins, K. Boon, E. Bacteria use small molecules to assess the density and identity of nearby organisms and formulate a response. This process, called quorum sensing (QS), commonly regulates bioluminescence, biofilm formation, and virulence. Vibrio harveyi have three described QS circuits. Each involves the synthesis of a molecule that regulates phosphorylation of its cognate receptor kinase. Each receptor exchanges phosphate with a common phosphorelay protein, LuxU, which ultimately regulates bioluminescence. Here, we show that another small molecule, nitric oxide (NO), participates in QS through LuxU. V. harveyi display a NO concentration-dependent increase in bioluminescence that is regulated by an hnoX gene. We demonstrate that H-NOX is a NO sensor and NO/H-NOX regulates phosphorylation of a kinase that transfers phosphate to LuxU. This study reveals the discovery of a fourth QS pathway in V. harveyi and suggests that bacteria use QS to integrate not only the density of bacteria but also other diverse information about their environment into decisions about gene expression. 2012 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7961 10.1021/cb300215t restricted |
| spellingShingle | Henares, Bernadette Higgins, K. Boon, E. Discovery of a nitric oxide responsive quorum sensing circuit in vibrio harveyi |
| title | Discovery of a nitric oxide responsive quorum sensing circuit in vibrio harveyi |
| title_full | Discovery of a nitric oxide responsive quorum sensing circuit in vibrio harveyi |
| title_fullStr | Discovery of a nitric oxide responsive quorum sensing circuit in vibrio harveyi |
| title_full_unstemmed | Discovery of a nitric oxide responsive quorum sensing circuit in vibrio harveyi |
| title_short | Discovery of a nitric oxide responsive quorum sensing circuit in vibrio harveyi |
| title_sort | discovery of a nitric oxide responsive quorum sensing circuit in vibrio harveyi |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/7961 |