Bacterial Quorum-Sensing Regulation Induces Morphological Change in a Key Host Tissue during the Euprymna scolopes-Vibrio fischeri Symbiosis
Tara Essock‐Burns, Brittany D. Bennett, Daniel Francisco Arencibia, Silvia Moriano‐Gutierrez, Matthew C. I. Medeiros, Margaret McFall‐Ngai, Edward G. Ruby
Abstract
Interbacterial signaling within a host-associated population can have profound effects on the behavior of the bacteria, for instance, in their production of virulence/colonization factors; in addition, such signaling can dictate the nature of the outcome for the host, in both pathogenic and beneficial associations. Using the monospecific squid-vibrio model of symbiosis, we examined how quorum-sensing regulation by the Vibrio fischeri population induces a biogeographic tissue phenotype that promotes the retention of this extracellular symbiont within the light organ of its host, Euprymna scolopes. Understanding the influence of bacterial symbionts on key sites of tissue architecture has implications for all horizontally transmitted symbioses, especially those that colonize an epithelial surface within the host.