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Lessons from the QSCR Structure for Quorum Sensing

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Pseudomonas

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Abstract

Pseudomonas aeruginosa, along with various other gram-negative bacterial species, utilizes the process of quorum sensing to sense the surrounding environment and respond accordingly, which ultimately promotes its survival and virulence in human hosts. The small, lipid-diffusible signaling molecules known as acyl-homoserine lactones (AHLs) play an integral role in regulating the quorum sensing system in P. aeruginosa. 3OC12-HSL is recognized by the AHL receptors LasR and QscR. The crystallographic structure of full-length QscR revealed a unique, symmetrical criss-crossed homodimer that is poised to bind DNA. Thus, QscR is the only full-length quorum sensing receptor bound to its endogenous signaling ligand (3OC12-HSL) that has been captured in the activated state. This chapter discusses the lessons learned from the structural studies of QscR, which have provided valuable insights into the varied mechanisms that QscR and other AHL receptors, including P. aeruginosa LasR, may use to respond to AHLs.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Drs. Michael Schurr and Chris Malarkey for helpful discussions and comments on the manuscript. This work was supported by NIH R56AI081872 to M.E.A.C.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, 80045, Aurora, CO, USA

    Christina L. Wysoczynski & Mair E.A. Churchill

  2. Program in Structural Biology and Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of Colorado, 80045, Aurora, CO, USA

    Mair E.A. Churchill

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  1. Christina L. Wysoczynski
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  2. Mair E.A. Churchill
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Correspondence to Mair E.A. Churchill .

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  1. Estación Experimental del Zaidín, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones, Granada, Spain

    Juan-Luis Ramos

  2. Dept. of Microbiology & Cancer Biology, University of Virginia Health System, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

    Johanna B. Goldberg

  3. Faculty of Natural Science Division of Cell & Molecular Biology, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom

    Alain Filloux

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Wysoczynski, C., Churchill, M. (2015). Lessons from the QSCR Structure for Quorum Sensing. In: Ramos, JL., Goldberg, J., Filloux, A. (eds) Pseudomonas. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9555-5_8

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