A tangled web: regulatory connections between quorum sensing and cyclic Di-GMP

J Bacteriol. 2012 Sep;194(17):4485-93. doi: 10.1128/JB.00379-12. Epub 2012 Jun 1.

Abstract

Bacteria sense and respond to environmental cues to control important developmental processes. Two widely conserved and important strategies that bacteria employ to sense changes in population density and local environmental conditions are quorum sensing (QS) and cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) signaling, respectively. The importance of these pathways in controlling a broad variety of functions, including virulence, biofilm formation, and motility, has been recognized in many species. Recent research has shown that these pathways are intricately intertwined. Here we review the regulatory connections between QS and c-di-GMP signaling. We propose that the integration of QS with c-di-GMP allows bacteria to assimilate information about the local bacterial population density with other physicochemical environmental signals within the broader c-di-GMP signaling network.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biofilms
  • Cyclic GMP / analogs & derivatives*
  • Cyclic GMP / genetics
  • Cyclic GMP / metabolism
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial
  • Quorum Sensing / genetics*
  • Signal Transduction
  • Vibrio cholerae / metabolism*
  • Vibrio cholerae / pathogenicity
  • Vibrio parahaemolyticus / metabolism*
  • Vibrio parahaemolyticus / pathogenicity
  • Xanthomonas campestris / metabolism*
  • Xanthomonas campestris / pathogenicity

Substances

  • bis(3',5')-cyclic diguanylic acid
  • Cyclic GMP