Bacterial bioluminescence onset and quenching: a dynamical model for a quorum sensing-mediated property.
R Soc Open Sci
; 4(12): 171586, 2017 Dec.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-29308273
ABSTRACT
We present an effective dynamical model for the onset of bacterial bioluminescence, one of the most studied quorum sensing-mediated traits. Our model is built upon simple equations that describe the growth of the bacterial colony, the production and accumulation of autoinducer signal molecules, their sensing within bacterial cells, and the ensuing quorum activation mechanism that triggers bioluminescent emission. The model is directly tested to quantitatively reproduce the experimental distributions of photon emission times, previously measured for bacterial colonies of Vibrio jasicida, a luminescent bacterium belonging to the Harveyi clade, growing in a highly drying environment. A distinctive and novel feature of the proposed model is bioluminescence 'quenching' after a given time elapsed from activation. Using an advanced fitting procedure based on the simulated annealing algorithm, we are able to infer from the experimental observations the biochemical parameters used in the model. Such parameters are in good agreement with the literature data. As a further result, we find that, at least in our experimental conditions, light emission in bioluminescent bacteria appears to originate from a subtle balance between colony growth and quorum activation due to autoinducers diffusion, with the two phenomena occurring on the same time scale. This finding is consistent with a negative feedback mechanism previously reported for Vibrio harveyi.
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1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
Idioma:
En
Revista:
R Soc Open Sci
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article