Bacteria produce and excrete signaling molecules, so called autoinducers, to communicate in a process described as quorum sensing. Within the frame of the project will explore the interconnectivity between cell to cell communication and phenotypic heterogeneity of autoinducer-regulated processes in Vibrio harveyi, one of the best investigated model organisms in quorum sensing. We will investigate the spatiotemporal appearance of various autoinducer-regulated phenotypes at single cell level, the molecular mechanisms to program the available autoinducers, the switches responsible for (bi-) multi-stability and the advantages of subpopulations.
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Contact details:
Prof. Dr. Kirsten Jung
Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München
Biozentrum
Department Biologie I, Ber. Mikrobiologie
Großhaderner Str. 2-4
82152 Martinsried
Tel.: +49-(0)89-2180-74500
Fax: +49-(0)89-2180-74520
jung(at)lmu.de
Homepage Link
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References:
Jung
Reiger, M., Lassak, J. and Jung, K. (2015) Deciphering the role of the type II glyoxalase isoenzyme YcbL (GlxII-2) in Escherichia coli. FEMS Microbiol. Lett., 362, 1-7.
Rossmann, F. S., Racek, T., Wobser, D., Puchalka, J., Rabener, E. M., Reiger, M., Hendrickx, A. P. A., Diederich, A.-K., Jung, K., Klein, C. and Huebner, J. (2015) Phage-mediated Dispersal of Biofilm and Distribution of Bacterial Virulence Genes Is Induced by Quorum Sensing. PLoS Pathog., 11, e1004653.
Plener, L., Lorenz, N., Reiger, M., Ramalho, T., Gerland, U. and Jung, K. (2015) The phosphorylation flow of the Vibrio harveyi quorum-sensing cascade determines levels of phenotypic heterogeneity in the population. J. Bacteriol., 197, 1747-1756.
Drees, B., Reiger, M., Jung, K. and Bischofs, I. B. (2014) A modular view of the diversity of cell-density-encoding schemes in bacterial quorum-sensing systems. Biophys. J., 107, 266-277.
Fritz, G., Megerle, J. A., Westermayer, S. A., Brick, D., Heermann, R., Jung, K., Rädler, J. O. and Gerland, U. (2014) Single cell kinetics of phenotypic switching in the arabinose utilization system of E. coli. PLoS ONE, 9, e89532.
Hornung, C., Poehlein, A., Haack, F. S., Schmidt, M., Dierking, K., Pohlen, A., Schulenburg, H., Blokesch, M., Plener, L., Jung, K., Bonge, A., Krohn-Molt, I., Utpatel, C., Timmermann, G., Spieck, E., Pommerening-Röser, A., Bode, E., Bode, H. B., Daniel, R., Schmeisser, C. and Streit, W. R. (2013) The Janthinobacterium sp. HH01 genome encodes a homologue of the V. cholerae CqsA and L. pneumophila LqsA autoinducer synthases. PLoS ONE, 8, e55045.
Chu, Y.-Y., Nega, M., Wölfle, M., Plener, L., Grond, S., Jung, K. and Götz, F. (2013) A New Class of Quorum Quenching Molecules from Staphylococcus Species Affects Communication and Growth of Gram-Negative Bacteria. PLoS Pathog., 9, e1003654.
Anetzberger, C., Reiger, M., Fekete, A., Schell, U., Stambrau, N., Plener, L., Kopka, J., Schmitt-Kopplin, P., Hilbi, H. and Jung, K. (2012a) Autoinducers Act as Biological Timers in Vibrio harveyi. PLoS ONE, 7, e48310.
Anetzberger, C., Schell, U. and Jung, K. (2012b) Single cell analysis of Vibrio harveyi uncovers functional heterogeneity in response to quorum sensing signals. BMC Microbiol., 12, 209.
Jung, K. (2011) Microbiology: tuning communication fidelity. Nat. Chem. Biol., 7, 502-503.
Anetzberger, C., Pirch, T. and Jung, K. (2009) Heterogeneity in quorum sensing-regulated bioluminescence of Vibrio harveyi. Mol. Microbiol., 73, 267-277.
Münch, A., Stingl, L., Jung, K. and Heermann, R. (2008) Photorhabdus luminescens genes induced upon insect infection. BMC Genomics, 9, 229.
Megerle, J. A., Fritz, G., Gerland, U., Jung, K. and Rädler, J. O. (2008) Timing and dynamics of single cell gene expression in the arabinose utilization system. Biophys. J., 95, 2103-2115.