Transcriptional analysis of AI-2 treatment in Yersinia pestis at 30°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 AI-2 quorum-sensing signal is added in to control. The strain Δpgm (pigmentation-negative) mutant was used as wild type.The control consisted of cells grown and treated under the same conditions without added signals. Six independent RNA samples from Y. pestis CO92 Δpgm cultures were paired with six independent RNA samples from AI-2 signal added in cultures for hybridization to six two-color microarrays. A dye-swap design was used to remove the Cy5 and Cy3 dye bias.