| Title: | Ratiometric quorum sensing governs the trade-off between bacterial vertical and horizontal antibiotic resistance propagation |
| Author(s): | Banderas A; Carcano A; Sia E; Li S; Lindner AB; |
| Address: | "INSERM U1284, Systems engineering and evolution dynamics, Paris, France. Center for Research and Interdisciplinarity, Universite de Paris, Paris, France. INRIA Saclay-Ile-de-France, Palaiseau, France. USR 3756 IP CNRS, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France" |
| DOI: | 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000814 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1545-7885 (Electronic) 1544-9173 (Print) 1544-9173 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Plasmid-mediated horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic resistance and virulence in pathogenic bacteria underlies a major public health issue. Understanding how, in the absence of antibiotic-mediated selection, plasmid-bearing cells avoid being outnumbered by plasmid-free cells is key to developing counterstrategies. Here, we quantified the induction of the plasmidial sex pheromone pathway of Enterococcus faecalis to show that the integration of the stimulatory (mate-sensing) and inhibitory (self-sensing) signaling modules from the pCF10 conjugative plasmid provides a precise measure of the recipient-to-donor ratio, agnostic to variations in population size. Such ratiometric control of conjugation favors vertical plasmid transfer under low mating likelihood and allows activation of conjugation functions only under high mating likelihood. We further show that this strategy constitutes a cost-effective investment into mating effort because overstimulation produces unproductive self-aggregation and growth rate reduction. A mathematical model suggests that ratiometric control of conjugation increases plasmid fitness and predicts a robust long-term, stable coexistence of donors and recipients. Our results demonstrate how population-level parameters can control transfer of antibiotic resistance in bacteria, opening the door for biotic control strategies" |
| Keywords: | "Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology Bacterial Load Bacterial Proteins/*genetics/metabolism Conjugation, Genetic Drug Resistance, Microbial/*genetics Enterococcus faecalis/drug effects/*genetics/growth & development/metabolism Gene Expression *Gene Transfer;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineBanderas, Alvaro Carcano, Arthur Sia, Elisa Li, Shuang Lindner, Ariel B eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2020/08/17 PLoS Biol. 2020 Aug 14; 18(8):e3000814. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000814. eCollection 2020 Aug" |
