Acyl homoserine-lactone quorum-sensing signal generation.
Acyl homoserine lactones (acyl-HSLs) are important intercellular signaling molecules used by many bacteria to monitor their population density in quorum-sensing control of gene expression. These signals are synthesized by members of the LuxI family of proteins. To understand the mechanism of acyl-HSL synthesis we have purified the Pseudomonas aeruginosa RhlI protein and analyzed the kinetics of acyl-HSL synthesis by this enzyme. Purified RhlI catalyzes the synthesis of acyl-HSLs from acyl-acyl carrier proteins and S-adenosylmethionine. An analysis of the patterns of product inhibition indicated that RhlI catalyzes signal synthesis by a sequential, ordered reaction mechanism in which S-adenosylmethionine binds to RhlI as the initial step in the enzymatic mechanism. Because pathogenic bacteria such as P. aeruginosa use acyl-HSL signals to regulate virulence genes, an understanding of the mechanism of signal synthesis and identification of inhibitors of signal synthesis has implications for development of quorum sensing-targeted antivirulence molecules.[1]References
- Acyl homoserine-lactone quorum-sensing signal generation. Parsek, M.R., Val, D.L., Hanzelka, B.L., Cronan, J.E., Greenberg, E.P. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. (1999) [Pubmed]
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