Gram-negative quorum sensing signalling enhances biofilm formation and virulence traits in gram-positive pathogen Enterococcus faecalisShow others and affiliations
2023 (English)In: Journal of Oral Microbiology, E-ISSN 2000-2297, Vol. 15, no 1, article id 2208901
Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) are typical quorum-sensing molecules of gram-negative bacteria. Recent evidence suggests that AHLs may also affect gram-positives, although knowledge of these interactions remains scarce. Here, we assessed the effect of AHLs on biofilm formation and transcriptional regulations in the gram-positive Enterococcus faecalis. Five E. faecalis strains were investigated herein. Crystal violet was employed to quantify the biomass formed, and confocal microscopy in combination with SYTO9/PI allowed the visualisation of biofilms’ structure. The differential expression of 10 genes involved in quorum-sensing, biofilm formation and stress responses was evaluated using reverse-transcription-qPCR. The AHL exposure significantly increased biofilm production in strain ATCC 29212 and two isolates from infected dental roots, UmID4 and UmID5. In strains ATCC 29212 and UmID7, AHLs up-regulated the quorum-sensing genes (fsrC, cylA), the adhesins ace, efaA and asa1, together with the glycosyltransferase epaQ. In strain UmID7, AHL exposure additionally up-regulated two membrane-stress response genes (σV, groEL) associated with increased stress-tolerance and virulence. Altogether, our results demonstrate that AHLs promote biofilm formation and up-regulate a transcriptional network involved in virulence and stress tolerance in several E. faecalis strains. These data provide yet-unreported insights into E. faecalis biofilm responses to AHLs, a family of molecules long-considered the monopole of gram-negative signalling.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Taylor & Francis, 2023. Vol. 15, no 1, article id 2208901
Keywords [en]
acyl-homoserine lactones, biofilm formation, cell-to-cell communication, endodontic infection, Enterococcus faecalis, Fsrc, gene expression, quorum sensing, reverse-transcription quantitative PCR, virulence
National Category
Microbiology Microbiology in the medical area
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-209122DOI: 10.1080/20002297.2023.2208901ISI: 000985088300001PubMedID: 37187675Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85159211059OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-209122DiVA, id: diva2:1763672
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2022-10142023-06-072023-06-072024-04-16Bibliographically approved