Transcriptional profiling by RNA-seq of A. baumannii AB5075 wild-type, abaI::Tn26 and ?abaM::Tn26 QS mutants.

Acinetobacter baumannii possesses a single divergent luxR/luxI-type quorum sensing (QS) locus named abaR/abaI. This locus also contains a third gene located between abaR and abaI which we term abaM that codes for an uncharacterized member of the RsaM protein family known to regulate N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) dependent QS and the expression of diverse genes in other ß- and ?-proteobacteria. However, abaM has never been charatcerized in Acinetobacter baumannii, and the studies about the regulon of abaI are limited. In this study we revealed that AbaM differentially regulates at least 76 genes including the csu pilus operon and the acinetin 505 lipopeptide biosynthetic operon, that are involved in surface adherence, biofilm formation and virulence. A comparison of the wild type, abaM::Tn26 and abaI::Tn26 transcriptomes, indicates that AbaM regulates ~21% of the QS regulon including the csu operon. Moreover, the QS genes (abaI/abaR) were among the most upregulated in the abaM::Tn26 mutant. Overall, our data suggests that abaM is a key regulator of Acinetobacter baumannii QS and gene expression. Overall design: RNA-seq of total RNA extractions from A. baumannii AB5075 wild-type, ?abaI and ?abaM grown statically for 18h in low-salt LB at 37 ºC.