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Volume 154, Issue 3

RpoS induces expression of the quorum-sensing regulator VanT Free

Abstract

In vibrios, regulation of the -like LuxR transcriptional activators occurs post-transcriptionally via small regulatory RNAs (sRNAs) that destabilize the mRNA at a low cell population, eliminating expression of LuxR. Expression of the sRNAs is modulated by the vibrio quorum-sensing phosphorelay systems. However, mRNA, which encodes a LuxR homologue in , is abundant at low and high cell density, indicating that VanT expression may be regulated via additional mechanisms. In this study, Western analyses showed that VanT was expressed throughout growth with a peak of expression during late exponential growth. VanO induced partial destabilization of mRNA via activation of at least one Qrr sRNA. Interestingly, the sigma factor RpoS significantly stabilized mRNA and induced VanT expression during late exponential growth. This induction was in part due to RpoS repressing expression of Hfq, an RNA chaperone. RpoS is not part of the quorum-sensing regulatory cascade since RpoS did not regulate expression or activity of VanO, and RpoS was not regulated by VanO or VanT. VanT and RpoS were needed for survival following UV irradiation and for pigment and metalloprotease production, suggesting that RpoS works with the quorum-sensing systems to modulate expression of VanT, which regulates survival and stress responses.

  • Received:
  • Accepted:
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  • Published Online:
Keyword(s): qRT-PCR, quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and sRNA, small regulatory RNA
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2008-03-01
2024-04-23
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RpoS induces expression of the Vibrio anguillarum quorum-sensing regulator VanT
Microbiology 154, 767 (2008); https://doi.org/10.1099/mic.0.2007/014167-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.2007/014167-0
/content/journal/micro/10.1099/mic.0.2007/014167-0
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