Thumbnail Image
Publication

Is autoinducer-2 a universal signal for interspecies communication: a comparative genomic and phylogenetic analysis of the synthesis and signal transduction pathways

Sun, Jibin
; 
Daniel, Rolf
; 
Wagner-Döbler, Irene
; 
Zeng, An-Ping
Citations
Altmetric:
Advisors
Editors
Other Contributors
Issue Date
2004-09-29
Submitted date
Show all metadata
Files
Thumbnail Image
Open Access publication
Adobe PDF, 534.4 KB
Other Titles
Abstract
Background Quorum sensing is a process of bacterial cell-to-cell communication involving the production and detection of extracellular signaling molecules called autoinducers. Recently, it has been proposed that autoinducer-2 (AI-2), a furanosyl borate diester derived from the recycling of S-adenosyl-homocysteine (SAH) to homocysteine, serves as a universal signal for interspecies communication. Results In this study, 138 completed genomes were examined for the genes involved in the synthesis and detection of AI-2. Except for some symbionts and parasites, all organisms have a pathway to recycle SAH, either using a two-step enzymatic conversion by the Pfs and LuxS enzymes or a one-step conversion using SAH-hydrolase (SahH). 51 organisms including most Gamma-, Beta-, and Epsilonproteobacteria, and Firmicutes possess the Pfs-LuxS pathway, while Archaea, Eukarya, Alphaproteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Cyanobacteria prefer the SahH pathway. In all 138 organisms, only the three Vibrio strains had strong, bidirectional matches to the periplasmic AI-2 binding protein LuxP and the central signal relay protein LuxU. The initial two-component sensor kinase protein LuxQ, and the terminal response regulator luxO are found in most Proteobacteria, as well as in some Firmicutes, often in several copies. Conclusions The genomic analysis indicates that the LuxS enzyme required for AI-2 synthesis is widespread in bacteria, while the periplasmic binding protein LuxP is only present in Vibrio strains. Thus, other organisms may either use components different from the AI-2 signal transduction system of Vibrio strains to sense the signal of AI-2, or they do not have such a quorum sensing system at all.
Citation
BMC Evolutionary Biology 2004 4:36
Affiliation
Publisher
BioMed Central
Journal
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10033/8675
DOI
10.1186/1471-2148-4-36
PubMed ID
15456522
PubMed Central ID
524169
Additional Links
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/4/36
 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Embedded video
Type
Language
en_US
Description
Series/Report no.
ISSN
1471-2148
EISSN
ISBN
ISMN
Gov't Doc #
Sponsors
License
Copyright © 2004 Sun et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
Collections
publications of the research group genomeanalytics (GMAK)