A transcription factor-sRNA-mediated double-negative feedback loop confers pathogen-specific control of quorum-sensing genes
mRNA susceptible to VqmR repression, and governs which DNA motifs LuxT can bind. Our findings reveal a pathogen-specific regulatory module that links small RNA targeting of mRNAs to transcription factor DNA binding specificity. The results show how evolution tailors bacterial regulatory circuits to adapt to different environments.
Authors
- Chenyi Fei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8287-4347)
- Kaitlin Decker
- Julie Valastyan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4341-5141)
- Bonnie L. Bassler (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0043-746X)
- Ameya A. Mashruwala (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5583-4174)
Institutions
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute (US)
- Princeton University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- mBio
- Published
- 2026-05-11
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1128/mbio.00633-26
- Primary Topic
- Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute
- Life Sciences Research Foundation
- National Science Foundation of Sri Lanka