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dc.contributor.authorHäussler, Susanne
dc.contributor.authorBecker, Tanja
dc.date.accessioned2012-11-30T16:48:04Z
dc.date.available2012-11-30T16:48:04Z
dc.date.issued2008
dc.identifier.citationThe pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) balances life and death in Pseudomonas aeruginosa populations. 2008, 4 (9):e1000166 PLoS Pathog.en_GB
dc.identifier.issn1553-7374
dc.identifier.pmid18818733
dc.identifier.doi10.1371/journal.ppat.1000166
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10033/254117
dc.description.abstractWhen environmental conditions deteriorate and become inhospitable, generic survival strategies for populations of bacteria may be to enter a dormant state that slows down metabolism, to develop a general tolerance to hostile parameters that characterize the habitat, and to impose a regime to eliminate damaged members. Here, we provide evidence that the pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) mediates induction of all of these phenotypes. For individual cells, PQS, an interbacterial signaling molecule of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, has both deleterious and beneficial activities: on the one hand, it acts as a pro-oxidant and sensitizes the bacteria towards oxidative and other stresses and, on the other, it efficiently induces a protective anti-oxidative stress response. We propose that this dual function fragments populations into less and more stress tolerant members which respond differentially to developing stresses in deteriorating habitats. This suggests that a little poison may be generically beneficial to populations, in promoting survival of the fittest, and in contributing to bacterial multi-cellular behavior. It further identifies PQS as an essential mediator of the shaping of the population structure of Pseudomonas and of its response to and survival in hostile environmental conditions.
dc.language.isoenen
dc.rightsArchived with thanks to PLoS pathogensen_GB
dc.subject.mesh4-Quinolonesen_GB
dc.subject.meshAntioxidantsen_GB
dc.subject.meshOxidantsen_GB
dc.subject.meshPseudomonas aeruginosaen_GB
dc.subject.meshQuinolonesen_GB
dc.subject.meshQuorum Sensingen_GB
dc.subject.meshReactive Oxygen Speciesen_GB
dc.subject.meshSelection, Geneticen_GB
dc.titleThe pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) balances life and death in Pseudomonas aeruginosa populations.en
dc.typeArticleen
dc.contributor.departmentDepartment of Cell Biology, Helmholtz Center for Infection Research, Braunschweig, Germany. susanne.haeussler@helmholtz-hzi.deen_GB
dc.identifier.journalPLoS pathogensen_GB
refterms.dateFOA2018-06-12T23:37:56Z
html.description.abstractWhen environmental conditions deteriorate and become inhospitable, generic survival strategies for populations of bacteria may be to enter a dormant state that slows down metabolism, to develop a general tolerance to hostile parameters that characterize the habitat, and to impose a regime to eliminate damaged members. Here, we provide evidence that the pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) mediates induction of all of these phenotypes. For individual cells, PQS, an interbacterial signaling molecule of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, has both deleterious and beneficial activities: on the one hand, it acts as a pro-oxidant and sensitizes the bacteria towards oxidative and other stresses and, on the other, it efficiently induces a protective anti-oxidative stress response. We propose that this dual function fragments populations into less and more stress tolerant members which respond differentially to developing stresses in deteriorating habitats. This suggests that a little poison may be generically beneficial to populations, in promoting survival of the fittest, and in contributing to bacterial multi-cellular behavior. It further identifies PQS as an essential mediator of the shaping of the population structure of Pseudomonas and of its response to and survival in hostile environmental conditions.


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