Metabolic Exchange and Energetic Coupling between Nutritionally Stressed Bacterial Species: Role of Quorum-Sensing Molecules
David Ranava, Cassandra Backes, Ganesan Karthikeyan, Olivier Ouari, Audrey Soric, Marianne Guiral, Marı́a Luz Cárdenas, Marie Thérèse Giudici‐Orticoni
Abstract
Bacteria have usually been studied in single culture in rich media or under specific starvation conditions. However, in nature they coexist with other microorganisms and build an advanced society. The molecular bases of the interactions controlling this society are poorly understood. Use of a synthetic consortium and reducing complexity allow us to shed light on the bacterial communication at the molecular level. This study presents evidence that quorum-sensing molecule AI-2 allows physical and metabolic interactions in the synthetic consortium and provides new insights into the link between metabolism and bacterial communication.