title: Does Microcystis aeruginosa have quorum sensing?
abstract: Quorum sensing (QS) is a system of cell-to-cell communication by means of intercellular signaling molecules to coordinate a set of targeted gene expression or repression in many Gram-negative bacteria; it plays important roles for bacteria in adaptation to adverse environmental conditions. In this study, we first demonstrated that Microcystis aeruginosa PCC-7820 could produce QS-related signal acylated homoserine lactones (AHLs) among the metabolite of axenic M. aeruginosa, based on bioassay and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. The concentration of the AHLs in the culture medium was cell density dependent and reached a maximum of 18 nM at 1.03 × 10(7) cells mL(-1), 30 days after inoculation. The regulation mechanism of QS in M. aeruginosa and its possible role in bloom formation are discussed.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Life Science, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Chunmei
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.forename: Ping
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Fei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Changxin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Changhong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D015107:4-Butyrolactone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D046931:Microcystis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D053038:Quorum Sensing
chemical_list: C088386:homoserine lactone; D015107:4-Butyrolactone