Abstract
Interspecific and intraspecific communication systems of microorganisms are involved in the regulation of various stress responses in microbial communities. Although the significance of signaling molecules in the ubiquitous family Xanthomonadaceae has been reported, the role bacterial communications play and their internal mechanisms are largely unknown. Here, we use Lysobacter enzymogenes, a member of Xanthomonadaceae, to identify a novel potassium ion import system, LeKdpXFABC. This import system participates in the indole-mediated interspecies signaling pathway and matters in environmental adaptation. Compared with the previously reported kdpFABC of Escherichia coli, LekdpXFABC contains a novel indispensable gene LekdpX and is directly regulated by the indole-related two-component system QseC/B. QseC autophosphorylation is involved in this process. The operon LekdpXFABC widely exists in Xanthomonadaceae. Moreover, indole promotes antimicrobial product production at the early exponential phase. Further analyses show that indole enhances potassium ion adsorption on the cell surface by upregulating the production of O-antigenic polysaccharides. Finally, we confirm that LeKdpXFABC mediation by indole is subject to the intraspecific signaling molecules DSFs, of which the biosynthesis genes always exist together with LekdpXFABC. Therefore, as a new idea, the signal collaborative strategy of indole and DSFs might ensure the persistent fitness advantage of Xanthomonadaceae in variable environments.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31870023, 42176108), the Young Taishan Scholars Program of Shandong Province (No. tsqn202103029), the Marine S&T Fund of Shandong Province for the Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao) (No. 2018SDKJ0406-4) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. 201941009).
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YW conceived the project. YW and YZ designed the experiments. YZ, YH, GL, ZB, XY, YL, HL and GY performed the experiments in this study. YW, YZ and YH analyzed the data. YW and YZ wrote the manuscript draft. YW, YZ, YH, GL and HL revised the manuscript of this study. All the authors have read and approved the submission for publication.
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Zhu, Y., Han, Y., Liu, G. et al. Novel indole-mediated potassium ion import system confers a survival advantage to the Xanthomonadaceae family. ISME J 16, 1717–1729 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-022-01219-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-022-01219-6
