Phenotypic variation in bacterial communication

2019 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K14795
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Biodiversity/Systematics
• Research Institution: University of Tsukuba
• Principal Investigator: TOYOFUKU Masanori 筑波大学, 生命環境系, 准教授 (30644827)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2020-03-31
• Keywords: 微生物間コミュニケーション / 相変異

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Communication among individuals is vital in most of the living systems including bacteria. In order to gain insight into the elusion of bacterial communication we analyzed several environmental isolates of Pseudmomas aeruginosa and compared their quorum sensing systems. We found that the quorum sensing system varies among the isolates and ones isolated from poor nutrient environments often had mutations in the quorum sensing systems. Interestingly some of the strains carried insertion sequences in the quorum sensing genes, which could jump in and out from the gene. This allowed the strain to switch on and off the quorum sensing system depending on the environment. In summary we found a unique phase variation system in bacterial communication where it is regulated by insertion sequence.

Free Research Field

微生物学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

微生物間コミュニケーション研究のほとんどが病原性に関連したものであり，生態学的な研究は少ない。特に，系統地理学的な研究は皆無である。また、従来のコミュニケーション研究はいわゆる高等な生物を対象に行われるものがほとんどであり、,遺伝子レベルでの系統学的解析は困難であった。単純な細菌のコミュニケーションだからこそ，コミュニケーションと環境・生態の関係に遺伝子レベルで迫ることができた。