title: A LuxP-based fluorescent sensor for bacterial autoinducer II.
abstract: Autoinducer 2 (AI-2), which enables different bacterial species to engage in interspecies communication, has been difficult to detect quantitatively. Currently, the most commonly used method for AI-2 detection employs an engineered Vibrio harveyi reporter strain, which produces bioluminescence in response to AI-2. However, the bioassay is not quantitative and is sensitive to assay conditions. In this work, we have developed two protein sensors for AI-2 by modifying AI-2 receptor proteins LuxP and LsrB with environmentally sensitive fluorescent dyes. The protein sensors bind specifically to AI-2 and produce dose-dependent changes in their fluorescence yield. The new assay method has been applied to monitor the enzymatic synthesis of AI-2 in real time and determine the extracellular and intracellular AI-2 concentrations in several bacterial culture fluids.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Ohio State Biochemistry Program, The Ohio State University, 100 West 18th Avenue, Columbus, Ohio 43210, USA.
authors.forename: Jinge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Dehua
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pei
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D001681:Biological Assay; D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D006714:Homoserine / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D007783:Lactones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D011485:Protein Binding; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*; D014733:Vibrio / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D007783:Lactones; C090749:LuxP protein, Vibrio; C091088:N-octanoylhomoserine lactone; D006714:Homoserine