| Title: | Mechanistic Features of the Enterococcal pCF10 Sex Pheromone Response and the Biology of Enterococcus faecalis in Its Natural Habitat |
| Author(s): | Breuer RJ; Hirt H; Dunny GM; |
| Address: | "Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA dunny001@umn.edu" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1098-5530 (Electronic) 0021-9193 (Print) 0021-9193 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Conjugative transfer of plasmids in enterococci is promoted by intercellular communication using peptide pheromones. The regulatory mechanisms that control transfer have been extensively studied in vitro However, the complicated systems that regulate the spread of these plasmids did not evolve in the laboratory test tube, and remarkably little is known about this form of signaling in the intestinal tract, the primary niche of these organisms. Because the evolution of Enterococcus faecalis strains and their coresident pheromone-inducible plasmids, such as pCF10, have occurred in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, it is important to consider the functions controlled by pheromones in light of this ecology. This review summarizes our current understanding of the pCF10-encoded pheromone response. We consider how selective pressures in the natural environment may have selected for the complex and very tightly regulated systems controlling conjugation, and we pay special attention to the ecology of enterococci and the pCF10 plasmid as a gut commensal. We summarize the results of recent studies of the pheromone response at the single-cell level, as well as those of the first experiments demonstrating a role for pheromone signaling in plasmid transfer and in GI tract competitive fitness. These results will serve as a foundation for further in vivo studies that could lead to novel interventions to reduce opportunistic infections and the spread of antibiotic resistance" |
| Keywords: | "Bacterial Proteins/genetics/*metabolism Conjugation, Genetic/*physiology Enterococcus faecalis/genetics/*metabolism Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial/physiology Gene Transfer, Horizontal/*genetics Plasmids antibiotic resistance horizontal gene transfe;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineBreuer, Rebecca J Hirt, Helmut Dunny, Gary M eng R01 AI122742/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/ R35 GM118079/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ T32 GM008347/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/ Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural Review 2018/02/14 J Bacteriol. 2018 Jun 25; 200(14):e00733-17. doi: 10.1128/JB.00733-17. Print 2018 Jul 15" |
