title: Influence of the alginate production on cell-to-cell communication in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1.
abstract: Many bacteria communicate with each other through signalling molecules, a process known as cell-to-cell communication. During this process, it is important for the signalling molecules to: (1) reach the target cells; and (2) to be received by the cognate receptor. Barriers such as the presence of extracellular matrix may prevent signals from reaching their targets; however, the influence of the extracellular matrix on cell-to-cell communication has scarcely been studied. Here, we demonstrate that the overproduction of an extracellular matrix, alginate, in a Pseudomonas aeruginosa mucoid variant, alters cell-to-cell communication by interfering with the response to quinolone signals while having no effect on N-acyl-L-homoserine lactones. The inhibition of quinolone signalling by alginate is limited to the alginate overproducer and has no effect on neighbour cells that do not produce alginate. Our study indicates that alginate overproduction affects the cell-to-cell communication of the mucoid variant, which may results in different downstream behaviours when it emerges in the presence of the wild-type (WT).
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan.
authors.forename: Jiayue
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan.|Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zürich, 8008, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toyofuku
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan.
authors.forename: Ryosuke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8572, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuhiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nomura
mesh_terms: D015107:4-Butyrolactone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D000464:Alginates; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D005109:Extracellular Matrix / Q000378:metabolism*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D020723:Glucuronic Acid / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D015363:Quinolones / Q000378:metabolism*; D053038:Quorum Sensing / Q000502:physiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: C407944:2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone; D000464:Alginates; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D006603:Hexuronic Acids; C107895:MucA protein, Pseudomonas; D015363:Quinolones; C088386:homoserine lactone; D020723:Glucuronic Acid; D015107:4-Butyrolactone