Autoinducer-2 plays a crucial role in gut colonization and probiotic functionality of Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003
Loading...
Files
Published Version
Additional File 1: Table S1.
Date
2014
Authors
Christiaen, Steven E. A.
O'Connell Motherway, Mary
Bottacini, Francesca
Lanigan, Noreen
Casey, Pat G.
Huys, Geert
Nelis, Hans J.
van Sinderen, Douwe
Coenye, Tom
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Public Library of Science
Published Version
Abstract
In the present study we show that luxS of Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003 is involved in the production of the interspecies signaling molecule autoinducer-2 (AI-2), and that this gene is essential for gastrointestinal colonization of a murine host, while it is also involved in providing protection against Salmonella infection in Caenorhabditis elegans. We demonstrate that a B. breve luxS-insertion mutant is significantly more susceptible to iron chelators than the WT strain and that this sensitivity can be partially reverted in the presence of the AI-2 precursor DPD. Furthermore, we show that several genes of an iron starvation-induced gene cluster, which are downregulated in the luxS-insertion mutant and which encodes a presumed iron-uptake system, are transcriptionally upregulated under in vivo conditions. Mutation of two genes of this cluster in B. breve UCC2003 renders the derived mutant strains sensitive to iron chelators while deficient in their ability to confer gut pathogen protection to Salmonella-infected nematodes. Since a functional luxS gene is present in all tested members of the genus Bifidobacterium, we conclude that bifidobacteria operate a LuxS-mediated system for gut colonization and pathogen protection that is correlated with iron acquisition.
Description
Keywords
Inflammatory bowel disease , Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG , Dna-microarray data , Quorum sensing role , Caenorhabditis elegans , Necrotizing enterocolitis , Gene expression , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Salmonella typhimurium , Escherichia coli
Citation
Christiaen SEA, O'Connell Motherway M, Bottacini F, Lanigan N, Casey PG, Huys G, et al. (2014) Autoinducer-2 Plays a Crucial Role in Gut Colonization and Probiotic Functionality of Bifidobacterium breve UCC2003. PLoS ONE 9(5): e98111. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0098111