Quorum Sensing Facilitates Interpopulation Signaling by Vibrio fischeri within the Light Organ of Euprymna scolopes

• Published in: Israel journal of chemistry 2023-06, Vol.63 (5-6), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Yount, Taylor A., Murtha, Andrew N., Cecere, Andrew G., Miyashiro, Tim I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bacteria; Bioluminescence; Chemical synthesis; gene regulation; microbial ecology; quorum sensing; Signaling; Squid; symbiosis; Vibrio fischeri
• ISSN: 0021-2148; 1869-5868
• DOI: 10.1002/ijch.202200061

Quorum sensing is an intercellular signaling mechanism that enables bacterial cells to coordinate population‐level behaviors. How quorum sensing functions in natural habitats remains poorly understood. Vibrio fischeri is a bacterial symbiont of the Hawaiian bobtail squid Euprymna scolopes and depends on LuxI/LuxR quorum sensing to produce the symbiotic trait of bioluminescence. A previous study demonstrated that animals emit light when co‐colonized by a Δlux mutant, which lacks several genes within the lux operon that are necessary for bioluminescence production, and a LuxI− mutant, which cannot synthesize the quorum signaling molecule N‐3‐oxohexanoyl‐homoserine lactone. Here, we build upon that observation and show that populations of LuxI− feature elevated promoter activity for the lux operon. We find that population structures comprising of Δlux and LuxI− are attenuated within the squid, but a wild‐type strain enables the LuxI− strain type to be maintained in vivo. These experimental results support a model of interpopulation signaling, which provides basic insight into how quorum sensing functions within the natural habitats found within a host.