title: A bacterial cell-cell communication signal with cross-kingdom structural analogues.
abstract: Extracellular signals are the key components of microbial cell-cell communication systems. This report identified a diffusible signal factor (DSF), which regulates virulence in Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris, as cis-11-methyl-2-dodecenoic acid, an alpha,beta unsaturated fatty acid. Analysis of DSF derivatives established the double bond at the alpha,beta positions as the most important structural feature for DSF biological activity. A range of bacterial pathogens, including several Mycobacterium species, also displayed DSF-like activity. Furthermore, DSF is structurally and functionally related to farnesoic acid (FA), which regulates morphological transition and virulence by Candida albicans, a fungal pathogen. Similar to FA, which is also an alpha,beta unsaturated fatty acid, DSF inhibits the dimorphic transition of C. albicans at a physiologically relevant concentration. We conclude that alpha,beta unsaturated fatty acids represent a new class of extracellular signals for bacterial and fungal cell-cell communications. As prokaryote-eukaryote interactions are ubiquitous, such cross-kingdom conservation in cell-cell communication systems might have significant ecological and economic importance.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, 30 Medical Drive, Singapore 117609.
authors.forename: Lian-Hui
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yawen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Yunfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Ji En
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Yi-Hu
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Chaozu
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Su Xing
authors.initials: SX
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Li-Xing
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Weng
authors.forename: Jin-Ling
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Leng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tay
authors.forename: Rong Xiang
authors.initials: RX
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.forename: Lian-Hui
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D002176:Candida albicans / Q000378:metabolism; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000502:physiology*; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D016959:Xanthomonas campestris / Q000378:metabolism / Q000472:pathogenicity*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D005227:Fatty Acids