Transcriptome profiling reveals the EanI/R quorum sensing regulon in Pantoea ananatis LMG 2665T

Background: Pantoea ananatis LMG 2665T synthesizes and utilizes acyl homoserine lactones (AHLs) for signaling. In this strain, short chain AHLs (C4 to C8) are produced by the EanI/R quorum sensing (QS) system that is involved in pathogenicity and biofilm formation. The complete set of genes regulated by the EanI/R system in P. ananatis LMG 2665T is still not fully known. In the present study, RNA-seq was used to analyze the transcriptome profiles controlled by the EanI/R system in this strain by comparing the wild type strain and its QS mutant 2665T ean∆I/R during lag and log stages. The RNA seq data was validated by RT qPCR. Results: The results showed that the EanI/R regulon in P. ananatis LMG 2665T comprised 144 genes, constituting 3.3% of the whole transcriptome under the experimental conditions in this study. The majority of genes regulated by the EanI/R system included genes for flagella assembly, bacterial chemotaxis, pyruvate metabolism, two component system, metabolic pathways, microbial metabolism and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. Conclusions: This is the first study to identify the EanI/R QS regulon in P. ananatis LMG 2665T. Functional analysis of genes regulated the EanI/R system in LMG 2665T could help unveil genes that play a vital role in pathogenesis and survival strategies of this pathogen. mRNA profiles of growth phases (lag and log) in wild type (WT) and mutant generated by deep sequencing, in triplicate, using Illumina HiSeq 2000 platform.