title: DqsIR quorum sensing-mediated gene regulation of the extremophilic bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans in response to oxidative stress.
abstract: Here, we show that AHLs can be employed by Deinococcus radiodurans, which belongs to the unique phylum Deinococcus-Thermus and is known for its cellular resistance to environmental stresses. An AHL-mediated quorum-sensing system (DqsI/DqsR) was identified in D. radiodurans. We found that under non-stress conditions, the AHL level was "shielded" by quorum quenching enzymes, whereas AHLs accumulated when D. radiodurans was exposed to oxidative stress. Upon exposure to H2 O2 , AHL synthetic enzymes (DqsI) were immediately induced, while the expression of quorum-quenching enzymes began to increase approximately 30 min after exposure to H2 O2 , as shown by time-course analyses of gene expression. Both dqsI mutant (DMDqsI) and dqsR mutant (MDqsR) were more sensitive to oxidative stress compared with the wild-type strain. Exogenous AHLs (5 μM) could completely restore the survival fraction of DMDqsI under oxidative stress. RNA-seq analysis showed that a number of genes involved in stress-response, cellular cleansing, and DNA repair had altered transcriptional levels in MDqsR. The DqsR, acting as a regulator of quorum sensing, controls gene expression along with AHLs. Hence, the DqsIR-mediated quorum sensing that mediates gene regulation is an adaptive strategy for D. radiodurans in response to oxidative stresses and is conserved in the extremophilic Deinococcus bacteria.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences of Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Zhejiang Province, Institute of Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences of Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Zhejiang Province, Institute of Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Shang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences of Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Zhejiang Province, Institute of Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Bing
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tian
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences of Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Zhejiang Province, Institute of Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Tao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences of Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Zhejiang Province, Institute of Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Jiangliu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences of Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Zhejiang Province, Institute of Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Chengzhi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences of Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Zhejiang Province, Institute of Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Liangyan
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences of Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Zhejiang Province, Institute of Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences of Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Zhejiang Province, Institute of Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory for Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences of Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and Zhejiang Province, Institute of Nuclear-Agricultural Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Yuejin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hua
mesh_terms: D015107:4-Butyrolactone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics; D034301:Deinococcus / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D000071825:Extremophiles / Q000235:genetics; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008025:Ligases / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D053038:Quorum Sensing / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: C088386:homoserine lactone; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; D008025:Ligases; C449816:N-acylhomoserine lactone synthase; D015107:4-Butyrolactone