Cited by 44Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensingbioluminescence and chemiluminescence researchBacterial Genetics and Biotechnology

From deep-sea volcanoes to human pathogens: a conserved quorum-sensing signal in Epsilonproteobacteria

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Pérez-Rodríguez, Ileana, Bolognini, Marie, Ricci, Jessica, Bini, Elisabetta, Vetriani, Costantino·2015·The ISME Journal

Abstract

Chemosynthetic Epsilonproteobacteria from deep-sea hydrothermal vents colonize substrates exposed to steep thermal and redox gradients. In many bacteria, substrate attachment, biofilm formation, expression of virulence genes and host colonization are partly controlled via a cell density-dependent mechanism involving signal molecules, known as quorum sensing. Within the Epsilonproteobacteria, quorum sensing has been investigated only in human pathogens that use the luxS/autoinducer-2 (AI-2) mechanism to control the expression of some of these functions. In this study we showed that luxS is conserved in Epsilonproteobacteria and that pathogenic and mesophilic members of this class inherited this gene from a thermophilic ancestor. Furthermore, we provide evidence that the luxS gene is expressed--and a quorum-sensing signal is produced--during growth of Sulfurovum lithotrophicum and Caminibacter mediatlanticus, two Epsilonproteobacteria from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Finally, we detected luxS transcripts in Epsilonproteobacteria-dominated biofilm communities collected from deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Taken together, our findings indicate that the epsiloproteobacterial lineage of the LuxS enzyme originated in high-temperature geothermal environments and that, in vent Epsilonproteobacteria, luxS expression is linked to the production of AI-2 signals, which are likely produced in situ at deep-sea vents. We conclude that the luxS gene is part of the ancestral epsilonproteobacterial genome and represents an evolutionary link that connects thermophiles to human pathogens.

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Crossref · 10.1038/ismej.2014.214

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  • This capacity to settle quickly on different types of surfaces shows a strong ability for colonization in deep sea vent for these groups especially for Epsilonbacteraeota for which a highly conserved quorum sensing machinery enabling biofilm formation has been retrieved in every lineages.

    “This capacity to settle quickly on different types of surfaces shows a strong ability for colonization in deep sea vent for these groups especially for Epsilonbacteraeota for which a highly conserved quorum sensing machinery enabling biofilm formation has been retrieved in every lineages (Pérez-Rodriguez et al., 2015).”

    From Is It First the Egg or the Shrimp? – Diversity and Variation in Microbial Communities Colonizing Broods of the Vent Shrimp Rimicaris exoculata During Embryonic Development (2019) · cites this paper as Pérez-Rodriguez et al., 2015

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Authors
Pérez-Rodríguez, I., Bolognini, M., Ricci, J., Bini, E., & Vetriani, C.
Affiliations
  • Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Rutgers University , New Brunswick, NJ,
  • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey (US)
Corresponding author
Vetriani, Costantino
Venue
The ISME Journal
Published
2014-11-14
Volume
9
Issue
5
Pages
1222-1234
ISSN
  • 1751-7362 (ISSN-L)
  • 1751-7370
OpenAlex
W1964962841
Cited by
44
References
67
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 1
FWCI
1.23
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The ISME Journal (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation (0843678, 0456676)
  • Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensing
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › bioluminescence and chemiluminescence research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology
Keywords
quorum sensing, Epsilonproteobacteria, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, chemosynthetic bacteria, biofilm formation, human pathogens, gene evolution, virulence gene regulation, chemotaxis
MeSH terms
Biological Assay, Homoserine, Humans, Lactones, Oxidation-Reduction, Phylogeny, Temperature, Water Microbiology, Likelihood Functions, Genome, Bacterial, Biofilms, Epsilonproteobacteria, Quorum Sensing, Hydrothermal Vents

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