ArticleNucleic acids research2022
An epigenetic switch activates bacterial quorum sensing and horizontal transfer of an integrative and conjugative element.
Article in Nucleic acids research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Whole Genome Sequencing Reveals Antibiotic Resistance Heterogeneity and Metabolic Signatures of Cutibacterium acnes in Atopic Dermatitis.Current microbiology · 2026Article
- Clinical Rel mutations that increase basal (p)ppGpp promote conjugal transfer of staphylococcal resistance plasmids.Microbiology (Reading, England) · 2026Article
- Causes and consequences of bacterial local adaptation via MGEs in the plant microbiome.The New phytologist · 2026Review
- Hijacking the signal: a critical evaluation of quorum sensing inhibitors as a next-generation approach against Staphylococcus aureus.Cell communication and signaling : CCS · 2026Review
- Microbial stewardship for sustainable dye remediation with a special emphasis on consortia engineering, computational techniques, and microbial bioprospecting.Archives of microbiology · 2026Review
- Quorum-Sensing C12-HSL Drives Antibiotic Resistance Plasmid Transfer via Membrane Remodeling, Oxidative Stress, and RpoS-RMF Crosstalk.Microorganisms · 2025Article
- Structural basis for control of integrative and conjugative element excision and transfer by the oligomeric winged helix-turn-helix protein RdfS.Nucleic acids research · 2025Article
- Closed genomes of commercial inoculant rhizobia provide a blueprint for management of legume inoculation.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Locally adapted rhizobia strains for Sahelian nutritional security.Sustainable microbiology · 2025Review
- Improvement of the conjugation transfer of N. gerenzanensis based on the synergistic effect of quorum sensing and antibiotic interference.AMB Express · 2023Article
- Complete genome sequence ofMicrobiology resource announcements · 2023Article
- AmBio · 2023Article
- DUF2285 is a novel helix-turn-helix domain variant that orchestrates both activation and antiactivation of conjugative element transfer in proteobacteria.Nucleic acids research · 2023Article
- The Type IV Secretion System (T4SS) Mediates Symbiosis betweenApplied and environmental microbiology · 2023Article
- Conjugation's Toolkit: the Roles of Nonstructural Proteins in Bacterial Sex.Journal of bacteriology · 2023Review
- Population genomics of Australian indigenousMicrobial genomics · 2023Article
- Crystallographic and X-ray scattering study of RdfS, a recombination directionality factor from an integrative and conjugative element.Acta crystallographica. Section D, Structural biology · 2022Article
- Article
- Construction of microbial consortia for microbial degradation of complex compounds.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2022Review
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Authors and funding
16 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Horizontal transfer of the integrative and conjugative element ICEMlSymR7A converts non-symbiotic Mesorhizobium spp. into nitrogen-fixing legume symbionts. Here, we discover subpopulations of Mesorhizobium japonicum R7A become epigenetically primed for quorum-sensing (QS) and QS-activated horizontal transfer. Isolated populations in this state termed R7A* maintained these phenotypes in laboratory culture but did not transfer the R7A* state to recipients of ICEMlSymR7A following conjugation. We previously demonstrated ICEMlSymR7A transfer and QS are repressed by the antiactivator QseM in R7A populations and that the adjacently-coded DNA-binding protein QseC represses qseM transcription. Here RNA-sequencing revealed qseM expression was repressed in R7A* cells and that RNA antisense to qseC was abundant in R7A but not R7A*. Deletion of the antisense-qseC promoter converted cells into an R7A*-like state. An adjacently coded QseC2 protein bound two operator sites and repressed antisense-qseC transcription. Plasmid overexpression of QseC2 stimulated the R7A* state, which persisted following curing of this plasmid. The epigenetic maintenance of the R7A* state required ICEMlSymR7A-encoded copies of both qseC and qseC2. Therefore, QseC and QseC2, together with their DNA-binding sites and overlapping promoters, form a stable epigenetic switch that establishes binary control over qseM transcription and primes a subpopulation of R7A cells for QS and horizontal transfer.
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