Sensing more than a quorum: The role of pheromones in the light-organ symbiont Vibrio fischeri

感知不仅仅是群体：信息素在光器官共生体费氏弧菌中的作用

• 批准号: 1121106
• 负责人: Eric Stabb
• 金额: $ 50.33万
• 依托单位: University of Georgia Research Foundation Inc
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-09-01 至 2015-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1121106&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Sensing; more; than; quorum; role

Plants and animals are consistently colonized by bacteria, and thesesymbiotic microorganisms often contribute to beneficial processes and/or diseasein their hosts. Many symbiotic bacteria communicate using pheromone signals,allowing them to coordinate group behaviors during infection. Such pheromonesignaling is typically called ?quorum sensing?, because high cell density isnecessary for pheromones to build up. However, a ?quorum? is typically notsufficient to induce pheromone-mediated behaviors fully, and bacterialpheromones are not simply census-taking signals. Importantly, the pheromonesmay also function to communicate aspects of the host environment among thebacteria. This project will use genetic, molecular, microscopic, and microbiologicalapproaches in exploiting the tractable model symbiosis between thebacterium Vibrio fischeri and its natural host squid Euprymna scolopes toexamine the relationship between conditions in the host and the symbiont?s useof pheromones. Pheromone signaling was discovered in V. fischeri and itremains among the best-understood model systems for such study. Thesymbiotic infection occurs in transparent tissue that is only colonized by V.fischeri, and pheromone signaling during infection results in the emission ofbioluminescence by the bacteria, making the infection relatively simple and theregulatory output easy to monitor. The scientific aims of this project are todetermine what aspects of the host environment lead to the induction of bacterialbioluminescence and to determine what role pheromones play in communicatingconditions in the host. A third aim is to integrate research on bacteria-hostsymbioses into undergraduate education, both through direct emersion inresearch and through the generation of materials to facilitate in-class discussionof scientific papers. The project will provide insight into the environmentsymbiotic bacteria encounter in a host, and how their perception of the hostenvironment can be integrated with their use of pheromones. The project willalso help train young scientists.

植物和动物始终被细菌定植，这些共生微生物经常对其宿主有益的过程和/或疾病做出贡献。许多共生细菌通过信息素信号进行交流，使它们能够在感染期间协调群体行为。这种信息素信号通常被称为？群体感应?因为高细胞密度是信息素积累的必要条件。然而，法定人数是多少？通常不足以完全诱导信息素介导的行为，细菌信息素也不是简单的人口普查信号。重要的是，信息素还可以在细菌之间沟通宿主环境的各个方面。本项目将利用遗传学、分子学、显微学和微生物学的方法来开发费氏弧菌及其天然宿主鱿鱼之间的可处理模型共生关系，以研究宿主和共生体条件之间的关系。信息素的使用。费洛蒙信号是在V. fischeri中发现的，它仍然是这类研究中最容易理解的模型系统之一。共生性感染发生在只有费氏弧菌定植的透明组织中，感染过程中的信息素信号导致细菌发射生物发光，使感染相对简单，调节输出易于监测。该项目的科学目标是确定宿主环境的哪些方面导致细菌生物发光的诱导，并确定信息素在宿主的通信条件中起什么作用。第三个目标是将细菌-宿主共生体的研究整合到本科教育中，既可以通过直接在研究中出现，也可以通过生成材料来促进课堂上对科学论文的讨论。该项目将深入了解共生细菌在宿主中遇到的环境，以及它们对宿主环境的感知如何与它们对信息素的使用相结合。该项目还将帮助培训年轻科学家。