Reports

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

Ilana Kolodkin-Gal,¹ Ronen Hazan,^1* Ariel Gaathon,² Shmuel Carmeli,³ Hanna Engelberg-Kulka¹

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.

¹ Department of Molecular Biology, Hebrew University–Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem 91120, Israel.
² Core Research Facility, Hebrew University–Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem 91120, Israel.
³ School of Chemistry, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.

^* Present address: Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Surgery, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.

To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hanita{at}cc.huji.ac.il

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S. Baik, K. Inoue, M. Ouyang, and M. Inouye (2009)
J. Bacteriol. 191, 6157-6166
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Paracrine signaling in a bacterium.

D. Lopez, H. Vlamakis, R. Losick, and R. Kolter (2009)
Genes & Dev. 23, 1631-1638
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From damaged genome to cell surface: transcriptome changes during bacterial cell death triggered by loss of a restriction-modification gene complex.

Y. Asakura and I. Kobayashi (2009)
Nucleic Acids Res. 37, 3021-3031
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Overexpression of MazFSa in Staphylococcus aureus Induces Bacteriostasis by Selectively Targeting mRNAs for Cleavage.

Z. Fu, S. Tamber, G. Memmi, N. P. Donegan, and A. L. Cheung (2009)
J. Bacteriol. 191, 2051-2059
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HicA of Escherichia coli Defines a Novel Family of Translation-Independent mRNA Interferases in Bacteria and Archaea.

M. G. Jorgensen, D. P. Pandey, M. Jaskolska, and K. Gerdes (2009)
J. Bacteriol. 191, 1191-1199
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Influence of Operator Site Geometry on Transcriptional Control by the YefM-YoeB Toxin-Antitoxin Complex.

S. E. S. Bailey and F. Hayes (2009)
J. Bacteriol. 191, 762-772
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The Role of Prophage for Genome Diversification within a Clonal Lineage of Lactobacillus johnsonii: Characterization of the Defective Prophage LJ771.

E. Denou, R. D. Pridmore, M. Ventura, A.-C. Pittet, M.-C. Zwahlen, B. Berger, C. Barretto, J.-M. Panoff, and H. Brussow (2008)
J. Bacteriol. 190, 5806-5813
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The Extracellular Death Factor: Physiological and Genetic Factors Influencing Its Production and Response in Escherichia coli.

I. Kolodkin-Gal and H. Engelberg-Kulka (2008)
J. Bacteriol. 190, 3169-3175
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Maintenance Forced by a Restriction-Modification System Can Be Modulated by a Region in Its Modification Enzyme Not Essential for Methyltransferase Activity.

S. Ohno, N. Handa, M. Watanabe-Matsui, N. Takahashi, and I. Kobayashi (2008)
J. Bacteriol. 190, 2039-2049
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Molecular Control of Bacterial Death and Lysis.

K. C. Rice and K. W. Bayles (2008)
Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. 72, 85-109
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