Journal
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Volume 362, Issue 1483, Pages 1223-1233Publisher
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2007.2047
Keywords
cross-kingdom signalling; Ulva; N-acylhomoserine lactones; chemokinesis; calcium ion influx
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Funding
- Natural Environment Research Council [pml010001, pml010004] Funding Source: researchfish
- NERC [pml010004, pml010001] Funding Source: UKRI
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The green seaweed Ulva has been shown to detect signal molecules produced by bacteria. Biofilms that release N- acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) attract zoospores-the motile reproductive stages of Ulva. The evidence for AHL involvement is based on several independent lines of evidence, including the observation that zoospores are attracted to wild- type bacteria that produce AHLs but are not attracted to mutants that do not produce signal molecules. Synthetic AHL also attracts zoospores and the attraction is lost in the presence of autoinducer inactivation (AiiA) protein. The mechanism of attraction is not chemotactic but involves chemokinesis. When zoospores detect AHLs, the swimming rate is reduced and this results in accumulation of cells at the source of the AHL. It has been demonstrated that the detection of AHLs results in calcium influx into the zoospore. This is the first example of a calcium signalling event in a eukaryote in response to bacterial quorum sensing molecules. The role of AHLs in the ecology of Ulva is discussed. It is probable that AHLs act as cues for the settlement of zoospores, rather than being directly involved as a signalling mechanism.
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