AUTHOR=Torres-Cerna Carlos E. , Morales J. Alejandro , Hernandez-Vargas Esteban A. TITLE=Modeling Quorum Sensing Dynamics and Interference on Escherichia coli JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology VOLUME=10 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2019.01835 DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2019.01835 ISSN=1664-302X ABSTRACT=

Bacteria control the expression of specific genes by Quorum Sensing (QS). This works using small signaling molecules called Autoinducers (AIs), for example, the Autoinducer-2 (AI-2). In this work, we present a mathematical model that represents the AI-2 dynamics on Escherichia coli, which is linked to the cell growth and the lsr operon expression. The model is adjusted using experimental data. Our results suggest that the extracellular AI-2 activity level depends on the cell growth rate, and this activity depends on the cell exponential growth phase. The model was adapted to simulate the interference of QS mechanisms in a co-culture of two E. coli strains: a wild type strain and a knock out strain that detects AI-2 but does not produce it. Co-culture simulations unveiled two conditions to avoid the QS on the wild strain: when the knock out takes control of the growth medium and overcomes the wild strain, or when is pre-cultured to its mid-exponential phase and then added to the wild strain culture. Model simulations unveiled new insights about the interference of bacterial communication and offer new tools for QS control.