title: Membrane vesicle-mediated bacterial communication.
abstract: The classical quorum-sensing (QS) model is based on the assumption that diffusible signaling molecules accumulate in the culture medium until they reach a critical concentration upon which expression of target genes is triggered. Here we demonstrate that the hydrophobic signal N-hexadecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone, which is produced by Paracoccus sp., is released from cells by the aid of membrane vesicles (MVs). Packed into MVs, the signal is not only solubilized in an aqueous environment but is also delivered with varying propensities to different bacteria. We propose a novel MV-based mechanism for binary trafficking of hydrophobic signal molecules, which may be particularly relevant for bacteria that live in open aqueous environments.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.|Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toyofuku
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Kana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Morinaga
authors.affiliation: Technology Research Center, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd., Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Yohei
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Research Unit Analytical BioGeoChemistry, Neuherberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Uhl
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shimamura
authors.affiliation: Development and Analysis Center, Sumitomo Heavy Industries Environment Co., Ltd., Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Inaba
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Research Unit Analytical BioGeoChemistry, Neuherberg, Germany.|Technische Universität München, Chair of Analytical Food Chemistry, Freising, Germany.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schmitt-Kopplin
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Leo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Eberl
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuhiko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nomura
mesh_terms: D015107:4-Butyrolactone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000378:metabolism; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology; D010230:Paracoccus / Q000502:physiology*; D053038:Quorum Sensing; D022161:Transport Vesicles / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D015107:4-Butyrolactone