The quorum sensing system of Yersinia enterocolitica 8081 regulates swimming motility, host cell attachment, and virulence plasmid maintenance

Ng, Yen-Kuan; Grasso, Marco; Wright, Victoria; Garcia, Vanina; Williams, Paul; Atkinson, Steve

Abstract

Although Yersinia enterocolitica genomes are highly heterogeneous, they contain a conserved N-acylhomoserine lactone-dependent (AHL) quorum sensing (QS) system consisting of the luxR and luxI orthologs yenR and yenI respectively. Certain hypervirulent strains also contain a putative orphan luxR gene, ycoR, that is not linked to an AHL synthase. To explore the contribution of yenR/yenI/ycoR to QS-dependent phenotypes in Yersinia enterocolitica strain 8081, single and multiple mutants were constructed. AHL profiling identified N-(3-oxohexanoyl) homoserine lactone, N-hexanoylhomoserine lactone, and N-(3-oxoseptanoyl) homoserine lactone as the most abundant. The AHL profiles of the yenR, ycoR and yenR/ycoR mutants were similar to the parent suggesting that the two LuxR homologues do not regulate AHL production while the yenI mutants were AHL-negative. A role for QS in swimming motility and cell attachment was demonstrated. Down-regulation of the virulence plasmid partition gene, spyA, in yenI and yenI/yenR/ycoR mutants is consistent with the greater loss of the Y. enterocolitica pYVe virulence plasmid in the yenI mutant during serial passage at 37 C but not at 22 C. A role for QS-regulated spyA in virulence plasmid maintenance is suggested.

Citation

Ng, Y.-K., Grasso, M., Wright, V., Garcia, V., Williams, P., & Atkinson, S. (2018). The quorum sensing system of Yersinia enterocolitica 8081 regulates swimming motility, host cell attachment, and virulence plasmid maintenance. Genes, 9(6), Article 307. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes9060307

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 12, 2018
• Publication Date: Jun 20, 2018
• Deposit Date: Jun 19, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 20, 2018
• Journal: Genes
• Electronic ISSN: 2073-4425
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 6
• Article Number: 307
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/genes9060307
• Keywords: Yersinia enterocolitica; Quorum sensing; LuxR; N-acylhomoserine lactones; Motility; Cell attachment; Virulence plasmid maintenance
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/940169
• Publisher URL: http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/9/6/307
• Contract Date: Jun 19, 2018