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Cyclic AMP and Cyclic AMP-receptor Protein Modulate the Autoinducer-2-Mediated Quorum Sensing System in Vibrio vulnificus

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Abstract

This study was undertaken to determine whether cyclic AMP (cAMP) or cAMP-receptor protein (CRP) modulates the activity of the autoinducer (AI)-2-mediated quorum sensing (QS) system in response to glucose availability in Vibrio vulnificus. A mutation in crp impaired V. vulnificus growth, decreased AI-2 production, and repressed the expression of smcR encoding the master regulator SmcR (a Vibrio harveyi LuxR homolog) of the AI-2-QS system, and these changes were prevented by in trans complementation of wild-type crp. Furthermore, glucose repressed smcR expression in the presence of CRP but not in its absence. A mutation in cyaA encoding adenylate cyclase, which is required for cAMP synthesis, also impaired V. vulnificus growth and repressed smcR expression, and these changes were recovered by in trans complementation of wild-type cyaA. These results indicate that cAMP or CRP modulates the AI-2-QS system in response to glucose availability in V. vulnificus, demonstrating the presence of a connection between catabolite repression and quorum sensing in V. vulnificus.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a Korea Research Foundation Grant from the Korean Government (MOEHRD, Basic Research Promotion Fund) (# 313-2007-2-E00140) and by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) of the Korea Government via the Research Center for Resistant Cells (# R13-2003-009).

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The authors declare that they have no potential conflicts of interest.

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Correspondence to Sung-Heui Shin.

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Sun-Pyo Kim and Choon-Mee Kim contributed equally to this article.

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Kim, SP., Kim, CM. & Shin, SH. Cyclic AMP and Cyclic AMP-receptor Protein Modulate the Autoinducer-2-Mediated Quorum Sensing System in Vibrio vulnificus . Curr Microbiol 65, 701–710 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00284-012-0218-0

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