Transcriptional analysis of luxS-null strain in Yersinia pestis CO92 at 37°C

Yersinia pestis, the etiological agent of plague, is able to sense cell density by quorum sensing. The function of quorum sensing in Y. pestis is not clear. Here, the process of autoinducer 2 (AI-2) quorum sensing was investigated by comparing transcript profiles when luxS gene was knocked out. The luxS gene encodes S-ribosylhomocysteinase which can produce DPD, a precursor of AI-2. The strain ∆pgm (pigmentation-negative) mutant R88 was called wild type. The ∆pgm ∆luxS mutant was called control. Six independent RNA samples from R88 were paired with six independent RNA samples from ∆pgm ∆luxS mutant cultures for hybridization to six two-color microarrays. A dye-swap design was used to remove the Cy5 and Cy3 dye bias.