Abstract
The luxS gene is responsible for the synthesis of AI-2 (autoinducer-2), a signaling molecule that participates in quorum sensing regulation in a large number of bacteria. In this work, we investigated which phenotypes are regulated by luxS gene in Serratia proteamaculans 94, psychrotrophic strain isolated from spoiled refrigerated meat. AI-2 was identified in S. proteamaculans 94, and the luxS gene involved in its synthesis was cloned and sequenced. A mutant with the inactivated luxS gene was constructed. Inactivation of the luxS gene was shown to lead to the absence of AI-2 synthesis, chitinolytic activity, swimming motility, suppression of the growth of fungal plant pathogens Rhizoctonia solani and Helminthosporium sativum by volatile compounds emitted by S. proteamaculans 94 strain, and to a decrease of extracellular proteolytic activity. The knockout of the luxS gene did not affect synthesis of N-acyl-homoserine lactones, lipolytic, and hemolytic activities of S. proteamaculans 94.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Dr. B. Bassler for the strains for determining AI-2. We are grateful to Dr. B. Glotov for critical reading of the manuscript and useful comments.
Funding
This research was supported in part by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (grant numbers 16-04-01048 and 18-04-00375).
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Zaitseva, Y.V., Lipasova, V.A., Plyuta, V.A. et al. Effect of inactivation of luxS gene on the properties of Serratia proteamaculans 94 strain. Folia Microbiol 64, 265–272 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-018-0657-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12223-018-0657-5