ArticleNature communications2026
Single-cell approach dissecting agr quorum sensing dynamics in Staphylococcus aureus.
Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Stress History Establishes a Transient Tolerant State That Shapes Antibiotic Survival Upon Resuscitation.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Spatial structure: shaping the ecology and evolution of microbial communities.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2026Review
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
Quorum sensing (QS) enables bacteria to coordinate collective behaviors by secreting and sensing diffusible signals. Understanding QS at single-cell resolution is essential because population-level measurements often obscure regulatory heterogeneity. In Staphylococcus aureus, the accessory gene regulator (agr) system is a major QS-controlled virulence regulator activated by autoinducing peptides (AIPs). Four agr-types exist, each defined by distinct AIPs and capable of cross-inhibition, yet their activation dynamics and interaction hierarchies remain poorly understood. Using microfluidics, time-lapse microscopy, and deep-learning-based image analysis, we quantified agr-activation in congenic and native agr-type strains. Agr-types differed in sensitivity to their homologous AIPs: agr-III was largely unresponsive, whereas agr-IV was highly sensitive with elevated basal activation. Agr-activation distribution was frequently bimodal (simultaneous existence of agr-ON and agr-OFF cells), driven by subpopulations that never activated or switched to agr-OFF despite constant stimulation. Combining homologous and heterologous AIPs, AIP‑IV suppressed pre‑activated agr-I, while AIP-I had no inhibitory effect on agr‑IV, indicating asymmetric cross‑inhibition. In spatially segregated cocultures, diffusional crosstalk resulted in four reproducible agr-interaction regimes, stable-dominance, stable-, delayed-, or unstable-dual-activation, determined by agr-type pairing and influenced by genetic background. Our approach links single-cell signaling to population outcomes and uncovers agr-type-specific asymmetries with potential consequences for strain competition and virulence.
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Registered trials
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