title: Exploring the chemical space of quorum sensing peptides.
abstract: Quorum sensing peptides are signalling molecules that are produced by mainly gram-positive bacteria. These peptides can exert different effects, ranging from intra- and interspecies bacterial virulence to bacterial-host interactions. To better comprehend these functional differences, we explored their chemical space, bacterial species distribution and receptor-binding properties using multivariate data analyses, with information obtained from the Quorumpeps database. The quorum sensing peptides can be categorized into three main clusters, which, in turn, can be divided into several subclusters: the classification is based on characteristic chemical properties, including peptide size/compactness, hydrophilicity/lipophilicity, cyclization and the presence of (unnatural) S-containing and aromatic amino acids. Most of the bacterial species synthesize peptides located into one cluster. However, some Streptococcus, Stapylococcus, Clostridium, Bacillus and Lactobacillus species produce peptides that are distributed over more than one cluster, with the quorum sensing peptides of Bacillus subtilis even occupying the total peptide space. The AgrC, FsrC and LamC receptors are only activated by cyclic (thio)lacton or lactam quorum sensing peptides, while the lipophilic isoprenyl-modified peptides solely bind the ComP receptor in Bacillus species.
authors.affiliation: Drug Quality and Registration (DruQuaR) Group, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Evelien
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wynendaele
authors.affiliation: Drug Quality and Registration (DruQuaR) Group, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bert
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Gevaert
authors.affiliation: Drug Quality and Registration (DruQuaR) Group, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Sofie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stalmans
authors.affiliation: Drug Quality and Registration (DruQuaR) Group, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Frederick
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Verbeke
authors.affiliation: Drug Quality and Registration (DruQuaR) Group, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ottergemsesteenweg 460, Ghent, 9000, Belgium.
authors.forename: Bart
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: De Spiegeleer
mesh_terms: D062126:Databases, Chemical; D057927:Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Interactions; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010455:Peptides / Q000737:chemistry*; D053038:Quorum Sensing
chemical_list: D010455:Peptides
keywords: chemical space; microbiome; quorum sensing peptides