The Pseudomonas aeruginosa Lectins PA-IL and PA-IIL Are Controlled by Quorum Sensing and by RpoS.

Winzer, Klaus and Falconer, Colin and Garber, Nachman C. and Diggle,, Stephen P. and Camara, Miguel and Williams, Paul (2000) The Pseudomonas aeruginosa Lectins PA-IL and PA-IIL Are Controlled by Quorum Sensing and by RpoS. Journal of Bacteriology, 182 (22). pp. 6401-6411. ISSN 0021-9193

Abstract

In Pseudomonas aeruginosa, many exoproduct virulence determinants are regulated via a hierarchical quorum-sensing cascade involving the transcriptional regulators LasR and RhlR and their cognate activators, N-(3-oxododecanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone (3O-C12-HSL) and N-butanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C4-HSL). In this paper, we demonstrate that the cytotoxic lectins PA-IL and PA-IIL are regulated via quorum sensing. Using immunoblot analysis, the production of both lectins was found to be directly dependent on the rhl locus while, in a lasR mutant, the onset of lectin synthesis was delayed but not abolished. The PA-IL structural gene, lecA, was cloned and sequenced. Transcript analysis indicated a monocistronic organization with a transcriptional start site 70 bp upstream of the lecA translational start codon. A lux box-type element together with RpoS (S) consensus sequences was identified upstream of the putative promoter region. In Escherichia coli, expression of a lecA::lux reporter fusion was activated by RhlR/C4-HSL, but not by LasR/3O-C12-HSL, confirming direct regulation by RhlR/C4-HSL. Similarly, in P. aeruginosa PAO1, the expression of a chromosomal lecA::lux fusion was enhanced but not advanced by the addition of exogenous C4-HSL but not 3O-C12-HSL. Furthermore, mutation of rpoS abolished lectin synthesis in P. aeruginosa, demonstrating that both RpoS and RhlR/C4-HSL are required. Although the C4-HSL-dependent expression of the lecA::lux reporter in E. coli could be inhibited by the presence of 3O-C12-HSL, this did not occur in P. aeruginosa. This suggests that, in the homologous genetic background, 3O-C12-HSL does not function as a posttranslational regulator of the RhlR/C4-HSL-dependent activation of lecA expression.