Quorum sensing by peptide pheromones and two-component signal-transduction systems in Gram-positive bacteria.
Kleerebezem, Michiel 1*; Quadri, Luis E. N. 2; Kuipers, Oscar P. 1; de Vos, Willem M. 1,3
[Miscellaneous Article]
Molecular Microbiology.
24(5):895-904, June 1997.
(Format: HTML)
Summary: Cell-density-dependent gene expression appears to be widely spread in bacteria. This quorum-sensing phenomenon has been well established in Gram-negative bacteria, where N-acyl homoserine lactones are the diffusible communication molecules that modulate cell-density-dependent phenotypes. Similarly, a variety of processes are known to be regulated in a cell-density- or growth-phase-dependent manner in Gram-positive bacteria. Examples of such quorum-sensing modes in Gram-positive bacteria are the development of genetic competence in Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus pneumoniae, the virulence response in Staphylococcus aureus, and the production of anti-microbial peptides by several species of Gram-positive bacteria including lactic acid bacteria. Cell-density-dependent regulatory modes in these systems appear to follow a common theme, in which the signal molecule is a post-translationally processed peptide that is secreted by a dedicated ATP-binding-cassette exporter. This secreted peptide pheromone functions as the input signal for a specific sensor component of a two-component signal-transduction system. Moreover, genetic linkage of the common elements involved results in autoregulation of peptide-pheromone production.
(C) 1997 Blackwell Science Ltd.