Pseudomonas aeruginosa Mobbing-Like Behavior against Acanthamoeba castellanii Bacterivore and Its Rapid Control by Quorum Sensing and Environmental Cues
Nimrod Shteindel, Yoram Gerchman
Abstract
Pseudomonas aeruginosa was shown previously to attack amoebae and other predators by adhering to them and injecting them with virulent substances. In this work, we show that an active, coordinated group behavior is enacted by the bacteria to utilize these molecular components, responding to both predator and bacterial population density. In addition to their ecological significance, immediate behavioral changes observed in response to PQS suggest the existence of a fast QS signal cascade, which is different from canonical QS that relies on slow-to-respond gene regulation. Similar regulatory circuits may drive other bacterial adaptations and pathogenicity mechanisms and may have important clinical implications.