Synthetic Quorum Sensing and Cell-Cell Communication in Gram-Positive Bacillus megaterium.
The components of natural quorum-sensing (QS) systems can be used to engineer synthetic communication systems that regulate gene expression in response to chemical signals. We have used the machinery from the peptide-based agr QS system from Staphylococcus aureus to engineer a synthetic QS system in Bacillus megaterium to enable autoinduction of a target gene at high cell densities. Growth and gene expression from these synthetic QS cells were characterized in both complex and minimal media. We also split the signal production and sensing components between two strains of B. megaterium to produce sender and receiver cells and characterized the resulting communication in liquid media and on semisolid agar. The system described in this work represents the first synthetic QS and cell-cell communication system that has been engineered to function in a Gram-positive host, and it has the potential to enable the generation of dynamic gene regulatory networks in B. megaterium and other Gram-positive organisms.
['Marchand|Nicholas|N|', 'Collins|Cynthia H|CH|']
D001410:Bacillus megaterium D001426:Bacterial Proteins D018920:Coculture Techniques D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial D005818:Genetic Engineering D010456:Peptides, Cyclic D053038:Quorum Sensing D011994:Recombinant Proteins
quorum sensing Bacillus megaterium autoinduction cell−cell communication synthetic biology