Control of Acetic Acid Fermentation by Quorum Sensing Via N-acylhomoserine Lactones in Gluconacetobacter Intermedius

A number of gram-negative bacteria regulate gene expression in a cell density-dependent manner by quorum sensing via N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs). Gluconacetobacter intermedius NCI1051, a gram-negative acetic acid bacterium, produces three different AHLs, N-decanoyl-l-homoserine lactone, N-dodecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone, and an N-dodecanoyl-L-homoserine lactone with a single unsaturated bond in its acyl chain, as determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Two genes encoding an AHL synthase and a cognate regulator were cloned from strain NCI1051 and designated ginI and ginR, respectively. Disruption of ginI or ginR abolished AHL production, indicating that NCI1051 contains a single set of quorum-sensing genes. Transcriptional analysis showed that ginI is activated by GinR, which is consistent with the finding that there is an inverted repeat whose nucleotide sequence is similar to the sequence bound by members of the LuxR family at position -45 with respect to the transcriptional start site of ginI. A single gene, designated ginA, located just downstream of ginI is transcribed by read-through from the GinR-inducible ginI promoter. A ginA mutant, as well as the ginI and ginR mutants, grew more rapidly in medium containing 2% (vol/vol) ethanol and accumulated acetic acid at a higher rate with a greater final yield than parental strain NCI1051. In addition, these mutants produced larger amounts of gluconic acid than the parental strain. These data demonstrate that the GinI/GinR quorum-sensing system in G. intermedius controls the expression of ginA, which in turn represses oxidative fermentation, including acetic acid and gluconic acid fermentation.