Quorum Sensing Modulates Bacterial Virulence and Colonization Dynamics During an Enteric Infection

Abstract

AbstractQuorum Sensing (QS) is a form of cell-to-cell communication that enables bacteria to modify behaviour according to their population density. While QS has been proposed as a potential intervention against pathogen infection, QS-mediated communication within the mammalian digestive tract remains understudied. Using an LC-MS/MS approach, we discovered thatCitrobacter rodentium, a natural murine pathogen used to model human infection by pathogenicEscherichia coli, utilizes the CroIR system to produce three QS-molecules. We then profiled their accumulation bothin vitroand across different gastrointestinal sites over the course of infection. Importantly, we found that in the absence of QS capabilities the virulence ofC. rodentiumis enhanced. This highlights the role of QS as an effective mechanism to regulate virulence according to the pathogen’s spatio-temporal context to optimize colonization and transmission success. These results also demonstrate that inhibiting QS may not always be an effective strategy for the control of virulence.