Quorum-sensing control of antibiotic resistance stabilizes cooperation in Chromobacterium violaceum

Evans, K. C., Benomar, S., Camuy-Velez, L. A., Nasseri, E. B., Wang, X., Neuenswander, B., Chandler, J. R. (January 2018) Quorum-sensing control of antibiotic resistance stabilizes cooperation in Chromobacterium violaceum. The ISME Journal, 12 (5). pp. 1263-1272. ISSN 1751-7362

URL: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29374267
DOI: 10.1038/s41396-018-0047-7

Abstract

Many Proteobacteria use quorum sensing to regulate production of public goods, such as antimicrobials and proteases, that are shared among members of a community. Public goods are vulnerable to exploitation by cheaters, such as quorum sensing-defective mutants. Quorum sensing- regulated private goods, goods that benefit only producing cells, can prevent the emergence of cheaters under certain growth conditions. Previously, we developed a laboratory co-culture model to investigate the importance of quorum-regulated antimicrobials during interspecies competition. In our model, Burkholderia thailandensis and Chromobacterium violaceum each use quorum sensing-controlled antimicrobials to inhibit the other species' growth. Here, we show that C. violaceum uses quorum sensing to increase resistance to bactobolin, a B. thailandensis antibiotic, by increasing transcription of a putative antibiotic efflux pump. We demonstrate conditions where C. violaceum quorum-defective cheaters emerge and show that in these conditions, bactobolin restrains cheaters. We also demonstrate that bactobolin restrains quorum-defective mutants in our co-culture model, and the increase in antimicrobial-producing cooperators drives the C. violaceum population to become more competitive. Our results describe a mechanism of cheater restraint involving quorum control of efflux pumps and demonstrate that interspecies competition can reinforce cooperative behaviors by placing constraints on quorum sensing-defective mutants.

Item Type: Paper
Subjects: diseases & disorders > Bacterial Infections
diseases & disorders
diseases & disorders > Bacterial Infections > Antibiotic Resistance
organism description > bacteria
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Ware lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: 26 January 2018
Date Deposited: 05 Feb 2018 17:10
Last Modified: 20 Feb 2024 18:48
PMCID: PMC5932061
Related URLs:
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/36067

Actions (login required)

Administrator's edit/view item Administrator's edit/view item
CSHL HomeAbout CSHLResearchEducationNews & FeaturesCampus & Public EventsCareersGiving