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J Bacteriol, May 1998, p. 2644-2651, Vol. 180, No. 10
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
In Vivo Evidence that S-Adenosylmethionine and Fatty
Acid Synthesis Intermediates Are the Substrates for the LuxI Family
of Autoinducer Synthases
Dale L.
Val1 and
John E.
Cronan Jr.1,2,*
Department of
Microbiology1 and
Department of
Biochemistry,2 University of Illinois,
Urbana, Illinois 61801
Received 20 November 1997/Accepted 13 March 1998
Many gram-negative bacteria synthesize N-acyl
homoserine lactone autoinducer molecules as quorum-sensing signals
which act as cell density-dependent regulators of gene expression. We
have investigated the in vivo source of the acyl chain and homoserine lactone components of the autoinducer synthesized by the LuxI homolog, TraI. In Escherichia coli, synthesis of
N-(3-oxooctanoyl)homoserine lactone by TraI was unaffected
in a fadD mutant blocked in
-oxidative fatty acid
degradation. Also, conditions known to induce the fad regulon did not increase autoinducer synthesis. In contrast, cerulenin and diazoborine, specific inhibitors of fatty acid synthesis, both
blocked autoinducer synthesis even in a strain dependent on
-oxidative fatty acid degradation for growth. These data provide the
first in vivo evidence that the acyl chains in autoinducers synthesized
by LuxI-family synthases are derived from acyl-acyl carrier protein
substrates rather than acyl coenzyme A substrates. Also, we
show that decreased levels of intracellular
S-adenosylmethionine caused by expression of bacteriophage
T3 S-adenosylmethionine hydrolase result in a marked
reduction in autoinducer synthesis, thus providing direct in vivo
evidence that the homoserine lactone ring of LuxI-family autoinducers
is derived from S-adenosylmethionine.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of
Microbiology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801. Phone: (217) 333-7919. Fax: (217) 244-6697. E-mail: j-cronan{at}uiuc.edu.
J Bacteriol, May 1998, p. 2644-2651, Vol. 180, No. 10
0021-9193/98/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1998, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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