Combinatorial quorum sensing allows bacteria to resolve their social and physical environment
Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell–cell communication system that controls gene expression in many bacterial species, mediated by diffusible signal molecules. Although the intracellular regulatory mechanisms of QS are often well-understood, the functional roles of QS remain controversial. In particular,...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
National Academy of Sciences
2014
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35961/ |
| _version_ | 1848795197979230208 |
|---|---|
| author | Cornforth, Daniel M. Popat, Roman McNally, Luke Gurney, James Scott-Phillips, Thomas C. Ivens, Alasdair Diggle, Stephen P. Brown, Sam P. |
| author_facet | Cornforth, Daniel M. Popat, Roman McNally, Luke Gurney, James Scott-Phillips, Thomas C. Ivens, Alasdair Diggle, Stephen P. Brown, Sam P. |
| author_sort | Cornforth, Daniel M. |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell–cell communication system that controls gene expression in many bacterial species, mediated by diffusible signal molecules. Although the intracellular regulatory mechanisms of QS are often well-understood, the functional roles of QS remain controversial. In particular, the use of multiple signals by many bacterial species poses a serious challenge to current functional theories. Here, we address this challenge by showing that bacteria can use multiple QS signals to infer both their social (density) and physical (mass-transfer) environment. Analytical and evolutionary simulation models show that the detection of, and response to, complex social/physical contrasts requires multiple signals with distinct half-lives and combinatorial (nonadditive) responses to signal concentrations. We test these predictions using the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and demonstrate significant differences in signal decay betweeallyn its two primary signal molecules, as well as diverse combinatorial responses to dual-signal inputs. QS is associated with the control of secreted factors, and we show that secretome genes are preferentially controlled by synergistic “AND-gate” responses to multiple signal inputs, ensuring the effective expression of secreted factors in high-density and low mass-transfer environments. Our results support a new functional hypothesis for the use of multiple signals and, more generally, show that bacteria are capable of combinatorial communication. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:28:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-35961 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:28:16Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | National Academy of Sciences |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-359612020-05-04T16:45:26Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35961/ Combinatorial quorum sensing allows bacteria to resolve their social and physical environment Cornforth, Daniel M. Popat, Roman McNally, Luke Gurney, James Scott-Phillips, Thomas C. Ivens, Alasdair Diggle, Stephen P. Brown, Sam P. Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell–cell communication system that controls gene expression in many bacterial species, mediated by diffusible signal molecules. Although the intracellular regulatory mechanisms of QS are often well-understood, the functional roles of QS remain controversial. In particular, the use of multiple signals by many bacterial species poses a serious challenge to current functional theories. Here, we address this challenge by showing that bacteria can use multiple QS signals to infer both their social (density) and physical (mass-transfer) environment. Analytical and evolutionary simulation models show that the detection of, and response to, complex social/physical contrasts requires multiple signals with distinct half-lives and combinatorial (nonadditive) responses to signal concentrations. We test these predictions using the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa and demonstrate significant differences in signal decay betweeallyn its two primary signal molecules, as well as diverse combinatorial responses to dual-signal inputs. QS is associated with the control of secreted factors, and we show that secretome genes are preferentially controlled by synergistic “AND-gate” responses to multiple signal inputs, ensuring the effective expression of secreted factors in high-density and low mass-transfer environments. Our results support a new functional hypothesis for the use of multiple signals and, more generally, show that bacteria are capable of combinatorial communication. National Academy of Sciences 2014-03-05 Article PeerReviewed Cornforth, Daniel M., Popat, Roman, McNally, Luke, Gurney, James, Scott-Phillips, Thomas C., Ivens, Alasdair, Diggle, Stephen P. and Brown, Sam P. (2014) Combinatorial quorum sensing allows bacteria to resolve their social and physical environment. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111 (11). pp. 4280-4284. ISSN 1091-6490 Diffusion Sensing Bacterial Signaling Efficiency Sensing Collective Behavior Bacterial Cooperation http://www.pnas.org/content/111/11/4280 doi:10.1073/pnas.1319175111 doi:10.1073/pnas.1319175111 |
| spellingShingle | Diffusion Sensing Bacterial Signaling Efficiency Sensing Collective Behavior Bacterial Cooperation Cornforth, Daniel M. Popat, Roman McNally, Luke Gurney, James Scott-Phillips, Thomas C. Ivens, Alasdair Diggle, Stephen P. Brown, Sam P. Combinatorial quorum sensing allows bacteria to resolve their social and physical environment |
| title | Combinatorial quorum sensing allows bacteria to resolve their social and physical environment |
| title_full | Combinatorial quorum sensing allows bacteria to resolve their social and physical environment |
| title_fullStr | Combinatorial quorum sensing allows bacteria to resolve their social and physical environment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Combinatorial quorum sensing allows bacteria to resolve their social and physical environment |
| title_short | Combinatorial quorum sensing allows bacteria to resolve their social and physical environment |
| title_sort | combinatorial quorum sensing allows bacteria to resolve their social and physical environment |
| topic | Diffusion Sensing Bacterial Signaling Efficiency Sensing Collective Behavior Bacterial Cooperation |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35961/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35961/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/35961/ |