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Mechanism of agonism and antagonism of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa quorum sensing regulator QscR with non‐native ligands
Author(s) -
WysoczynskiHorita Christina L.,
Boursier Michelle E.,
Hill Ryan,
Hansen Kirk,
Blackwell Helen E.,
Churchill Mair E. A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1111/mmi.13930
Subject(s) - quorum sensing , pseudomonas aeruginosa , biology , regulator , agonist , homoserine , signal transduction , receptor , microbiology and biotechnology , virulence , bacteria , biochemistry , gene , genetics
Summary Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic pathogen that uses the process of quorum sensing (QS) to coordinate the expression of many virulence genes. During quorum sensing, N ‐acyl‐homoserine lactone (AHL) signaling molecules regulate the activity of three LuxR‐type transcription factors, LasR, RhlR and QscR. To better understand P. aeruginosa QS signal reception, we examined the mechanism underlying the response of QscR to synthetic agonists and antagonists using biophysical and structural approaches. The structure of QscR bound to a synthetic agonist reveals a novel mode of ligand binding supporting a general mechanism for agonist activity. In turn, antagonists of QscR with partial agonist activity were found to destabilize and greatly impair QscR dimerization and DNA binding. These results highlight the diversity of LuxR‐type receptor responses to small molecule agonists and antagonists and demonstrate the potential for chemical strategies for the selective targeting of individual QS systems.