Cooperation in bioluminescence: understanding the role of autoinducers by a stochastic random resistor model

Abstract

Quorum sensing is a communication mechanism adopted by different bacterial strains for the regulation of gene transcription. It takes place through the exchange of molecules called autoinducers. Bioluminescence is an emergent threshold phenomenon shown by some bacteria strains. Its precise relationship to quorum sensing is a debated topic, particularly regarding the role of the different autoinducers used by bacteria. In this paper, assuming a direct relationship between bioluminescence and quorum sensing, we investigate the role of multiple autoinducers in the bioluminescence response of Vibrio harveyi, considered as a model bioluminescent strain, due to its quorum sensing circuitry involving an array of three different autoinducers. Experiments on mutants of this bacterium, obtained by suppression of one or more autoinducers, reveal their relative non-trivial relevance and cooperative interaction patterns. The proposed analysis is implemented on a regular lattice, whose nodes represent microbial entities equipped with charges, which represent the ability to up/down regulate the gene expression. Quorum sensing results from a Coulomb-type field, produced by the charges. In analogy with random resistor network models, the lattice is permeated by an effective current which accounts for the amount and distribution of the charges. We propose that the presence of different autoinducers correspond to a different up/down regulation of gene expression, i.e., to a different way to account for the charges. Then, by introducing a modulation of the charge dependence into the current flowing within the network, we show that it is able to describe the bioluminescence exhibited by V. harveyi mutants. Furthermore, modulation of the charge dependence allows the interactions between the different autoinducers to be taken into account, providing a prediction regarding the data obtainable under specific growth conditions. Graphical abstract

Competitive Distribution of Public Goods: The Role of Quorum Sensing in the Development of Bacteria Colonies

“…If properly mixed, they should exhibit a large PG production. The key element of the modeling is quorum sensing, previously introduced to describe bioluminescence in Vibrio harveyi [24,25] and which is here shown to be able to provide some general benefits to the colony in agreement with experiments [12][13][14].…”

“…The proposed model is an agent-based model on a regular network [24][25][26][27][28]. The quantity of resources is limited.…”

“…Finally, the colony produces public goods (nutrients, viral agents, bioluminescence, etc. [9,10]) which are a product of QS and specifically of the level of cooperativity [24,25].…”

“…For the case of two strains, it is given by their mean value, <α>. Notice that in Equation ( 5) γ is the colony cooperativity index, which we related in [25] to the amount of bioluminescence produced by several mutants of Vibrio harveyi. As a matter of fact, it represents the strength with which the agents present in the network cooperate in the formation of the public goods to the extent of their sensing-charges.…”

“…The choice is made by first sorting the neighbors in order of increasing potential. Then the k-th node in the list is selected with probability [24,25]…”