Title | Caenorhabditis elegans recognizes a bacterial quorum-sensing signal molecule through the AWCON neuron. |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2014 |
Authors | Werner, KM, Perez, LJ, Ghosh, R, Semmelhack, MF, Bassler, BL |
Journal | J Biol Chem |
Volume | 289 |
Issue | 38 |
Pagination | 26566-26573 |
Date Published | 2014 Sep 19 |
ISSN | 1083-351X |
Keywords | Animals, Caenorhabditis elegans, Chemoreceptor Cells, Chemotaxis, Ketones, Quorum Sensing, Vibrio cholerae |
Abstract | <p>In a process known as quorum sensing, bacteria use chemicals called autoinducers for cell-cell communication. Population-wide detection of autoinducers enables bacteria to orchestrate collective behaviors. In the animal kingdom detection of chemicals is vital for success in locating food, finding hosts, and avoiding predators. This behavior, termed chemotaxis, is especially well studied in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Here we demonstrate that the Vibrio cholerae autoinducer (S)-3-hydroxytridecan-4-one, termed CAI-1, influences chemotaxis in C. elegans. C. elegans prefers V. cholerae that produces CAI-1 over a V. cholerae mutant defective for CAI-1 production. The position of the CAI-1 ketone moiety is the key feature driving CAI-1-directed nematode behavior. CAI-1 is detected by the C. elegans amphid sensory neuron AWC(ON). Laser ablation of the AWC(ON) cell, but not other amphid sensory neurons, abolished chemoattraction to CAI-1. These analyses define the structural features of a bacterial-produced signal and the nematode chemosensory neuron that permit cross-kingdom interaction.</p> |
DOI | 10.1074/jbc.M114.573832 |
Alternate Journal | J Biol Chem |
PubMed ID | 25092291 |
PubMed Central ID | PMC4176233 |
Grant List | R01 GM065859 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States 5R01GM065859 / GM / NIGMS NIH HHS / United States / HHMI / Howard Hughes Medical Institute / United States |