Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40315408›Full record

ArticlePLoS pathogens2025

Interplay between chemotaxis, quorum sensing, and metabolism regulates Escherichia coli-Salmonella Typhimurium interactions in vivo.

Leanid Laganenka, Christopher Schubert, Andreas Sichert, Irina Kalita, Manja Barthel, Bidong D Nguyen, Jana Näf, Thomas Lobriglio, Uwe Sauer, Wolf-Dietrich Hardt

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS pathogens, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
9citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

9 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Infection strategies ofGut microbes reports · 2026
    Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Leanid LaganenkaInstitute of Microbiology, D-BIOL, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0001-6977-9591
Christopher SchubertInstitute of Microbiology, D-BIOL, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.ORCID 0000-0002-7921-1470
Andreas SichertInstitute of Molecular Systems Biology, D-BIOL, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Irina KalitaMax Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Marburg, Germany.
Manja BarthelInstitute of Microbiology, D-BIOL, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Bidong D NguyenInstitute of Microbiology, D-BIOL, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Jana NäfInstitute of Microbiology, D-BIOL, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Thomas LobriglioInstitute of Microbiology, D-BIOL, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Uwe SauerInstitute of Molecular Systems Biology, D-BIOL, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Wolf-Dietrich HardtInstitute of Microbiology, D-BIOL, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.

Funding

German Research FoundationNCCR MicrobiomesSwiss National Science Foundation
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Motile bacteria use chemotaxis to navigate complex environments like the mammalian gut. These bacteria sense a range of chemoeffector molecules, which can either be of nutritional value or provide a cue for the niche best suited for their survival and growth. One such cue molecule is the intra- and interspecies quorum sensing signaling molecule, autoinducer-2 (AI-2). Apart from controlling collective behavior of Escherichia coli, chemotaxis towards AI-2 contributes to its ability to colonize the murine gut. However, the impact of AI-2-dependent niche occupation by E. coli on interspecies interactions in vivo is not fully understood. Using the C57BL/6J mouse infection model, we show that chemotaxis towards AI-2 contributes to nutrient competition and thereby affects colonization resistance conferred by E. coli against the enteric pathogen Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium (S. Tm). Like E. coli, S. Tm also relies on chemotaxis, albeit not towards AI-2, to compete against residing E. coli in a gut inflammation-dependent manner. Finally, utilizing a barcoded S. Tm mutant pool, we investigated the impact of AI-2 signaling in E. coli on carbohydrate utilization and central metabolism of S. Tm. Interestingly, AI-2-dependent niche colonization by E. coli was highly specific, impacting only a limited number of S. Tm mutants at distinct time points during infection. Notably, it significantly altered the fitness of mutants deficient in mannose utilization (ΔmanA, early stage infection) and, to a lesser extent, fumarate respiration (ΔdcuABC, late stage infection). The role of quorum sensing and chemotaxis in metabolic competition among bacteria remains largely unexplored. Here, we provide initial evidence that AI-2-dependent nutrient competition occurs between S. Tm and E. coli at specific time points during infection. These findings represent a crucial step toward understanding how bacteria navigate the gastrointestinal tract and engage in targeted nutrient competition within this complex three-dimensional environment.

Indexed as

ChemotaxisEscherichia coliEscherichia coli InfectionsQuorum SensingSalmonella typhimuriumAnimalsFemaleHomoserineLactonesMiceMice, Inbred C57BLHomoserineLactonesN-octanoylhomoserine lactone

Identifiers

PMID40315408
PMCPMC12074654

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.