Membrane vesicle-mediated bacterial communication.

Toyofuku M; Morinaga K; Hashimoto Y; Uhl J; Shimamura H; Inaba H; Schmitt-Kopplin P; Eberl L; Nomura N

doi:10.1038/ismej.2017.13

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Journal article

Membrane vesicle-mediated bacterial communication.

Toyofuku M Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Morinaga K Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Hashimoto Y Technology Research Center, Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd., Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan.
Uhl J Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Research Unit Analytical BioGeoChemistry, Neuherberg, Germany.
Shimamura H Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Inaba H Development and Analysis Center, Sumitomo Heavy Industries Environment Co., Ltd., Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan.
Schmitt-Kopplin P Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Research Unit Analytical BioGeoChemistry, Neuherberg, Germany.
Eberl L Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland.
Nomura N Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.

2017-03-11

Published in:

The ISME journal. - 2017

English The classical quorum-sensing (QS) model is based on the assumption that diffusible signaling molecules accumulate in the culture medium until they reach a critical concentration upon which expression of target genes is triggered. Here we demonstrate that the hydrophobic signal N-hexadecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone, which is produced by Paracoccus sp., is released from cells by the aid of membrane vesicles (MVs). Packed into MVs, the signal is not only solubilized in an aqueous environment but is also delivered with varying propensities to different bacteria. We propose a novel MV-based mechanism for binary trafficking of hydrophobic signal molecules, which may be particularly relevant for bacteria that live in open aqueous environments.

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