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The prevalence of functional quorum‐sensing systems in recently emerged Vibrio cholerae toxigenic strains
Author(s) -
Wang Yunduan,
Wang Hui,
Cui Zhigang,
Chen Haili,
Zhong Zengtao,
Kan Biao,
Zhu Jun
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
environmental microbiology reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.229
H-Index - 69
ISSN - 1758-2229
DOI - 10.1111/j.1758-2229.2010.00212.x
Subject(s) - vibrio cholerae , quorum sensing , microbiology and biotechnology , biofilm , biology , master regulator , cholera , cholera toxin , bacteria , gene , genetics , transcription factor
Summary Vibrio cholerae live in aquatic environments and cause cholera disease. Like many other bacteria, V. cholerae use quorum‐sensing (QS) systems to control various cellular functions, such as pathogenesis and biofilm formation. However, some V. cholerae strains are naturally QS‐defective, including defective mutations in the QS master regulator HapR. Here we examined the QS functionality of 602 V. cholerae clinical and environmental strains isolated in China from 1960 to 2007, by measuring QS‐regulated gene expression. We found that a greater percentage of the toxigenic strains ( ctxAB + ) had functional QS as compared with the non‐toxigenic strains ( ctxAB ‐ ), and that this trend increased significantly over time. We hypothesize that QS provides adaptive value in V. cholerae pathogenic settings.