title: Expression and Quorum Sensing Regulation of Type III Secretion System Genes of Vibrio harveyi during Infection of Gnotobiotic Brine Shrimp.
abstract: Type III secretion systems enable pathogens to inject their virulence factors directly into the cytoplasm of the host cells. The type III secretion system of Vibrio harveyi, a major pathogen of aquatic organisms and a model species in quorum sensing studies, is repressed by the quorum sensing master regulator LuxR. In this study, we found that during infection of gnotobiotic brine shrimp larvae, the expression levels of three type III secretion operons in V. harveyi increased within the first 12h after challenge and decreased again thereafter. The in vivo expression levels were highest in a mutant with a quorum sensing system that is locked in low cell density configuration (minimal LuxR levels) and lowest in a mutant with a quorum sensing system that is locked in the high cell density configuration (maximal LuxR levels), which is consistent with repression of type III secretion by LuxR. Remarkably, in vivo expression levels of the type III secretion system genes were much (> 1000 fold) higher than the in vitro expression levels, indicating that (currently unknown) host factors significantly induce the type III secretion system. Given the fact that type III secretion is energy-consuming, repression by the quorum sensing master regulators might be a mechanism to save energy under conditions where it does not provide an advantage to the cells.
authors.affiliation: Department of Livestock Production, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Belihuloya, Sri Lanka.|Centre for Science Education and Research, UNESCO MIRCEN for Medical and Marine Biotechnology, Nitte University, Mangalore, India.
authors.forename: H A Darshanee
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Ruwandeepika
authors.affiliation: Centre for Science Education and Research, UNESCO MIRCEN for Medical and Marine Biotechnology, Nitte University, Mangalore, India.
authors.forename: Indrani
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Karunasagar
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Aquaculture & Artemia Reference Center, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bossier
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Aquaculture & Artemia Reference Center, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Defoirdt
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001156:Artemia / Q000382:microbiology*; D058947:Bacterial Secretion Systems / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology; D053038:Quorum Sensing / Q000502:physiology*; D014733:Vibrio / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000472:pathogenicity; D014735:Vibrio Infections / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D058947:Bacterial Secretion Systems