Linear Pentapeptide Is a Quorum-Sensing Factor Required for mazEF-Mediated Cell Death in Escherichia coli

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 318; no. 5850; pp. 652 - 655
• Main Authors: Kolodkin-Gal, Ilana, Hazan, Ronen, Gaathon, Ariel, Carmeli, Shmuel, Engelberg-Kulka, Hanna
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 26-10-2007; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Amino Acid Sequence; Amino acids; Apoptosis; Aspartate-Ammonia Ligase - genetics; Aspartate-Ammonia Ligase - metabolism; Bacteria; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; Cell death; Chromosomes; Cultured cells; DNA-Binding Proteins - physiology; E coli; Elution; Endoribonucleases - physiology; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - cytology; Escherichia coli - growth & development; Escherichia coli - physiology; Escherichia coli Proteins - physiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Medical schools; Microbial Viability; Microbiology; Molecular biology; Molecules; Oligopeptides - chemistry; Oligopeptides - isolation & purification; Oligopeptides - metabolism; Pathogenicity, virulence, toxins, bacteriocins, pyrogens, host-bacteria relations, miscellaneous strains; Peptides; Quorum Sensing; Toxicology; Toxins; Toxin; Cell death; Escherichia coli; Bacteria; Quorum sensing; Enterobacteriaceae; Apoptosis
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1147248

mazEF is a toxin-antitoxin module located on many bacterial chromosomes, including those of pathogens. Here, we report that Escherichia coli mazEF-mediated cell death is a population phenomenon requiring a quorum-sensing molecule that we call the extracellular death factor (EDF). Structural analysis revealed that EDF is a linear pentapeptide, Asn-Asn-Trp-Asn-Asn. Each of the five amino acids of EDF is important for its activity.