PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Jose Miguel D. Robes AU - Marvin A. Altamia AU - Ethan G. Murdock AU - Gisela P. Concepcion AU - Margo G. Haygood AU - Aaron W. Puri TI - A conserved biosynthetic gene cluster is regulated by quorum sensing in a shipworm symbiont AID - 10.1101/2022.02.10.479910 DP - 2022 Jan 01 TA - bioRxiv PG - 2022.02.10.479910 4099 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/02/10/2022.02.10.479910.short 4100 - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/02/10/2022.02.10.479910.full AB - Bacterial symbionts often provide critical functions for their hosts. For example, wood-boring bivalves called shipworms rely on cellulolytic endosymbionts for wood digestion. However, how the relationship between shipworms and their bacterial symbionts is formed and maintained remains unknown. Quorum sensing (QS) often plays an important role in regulating symbiotic relationships. We identified and characterized a QS system found in Teredinibacter sp. strain 2052S, a gill isolate of the wood-boring shipworm Bactronophorus cf. thoracites. We determined that 2052S produces the signal N-decanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C10-HSL), and that this signal controls activation of a biosynthetic gene cluster co-located in the symbiont genome that is conserved among all symbiotic Teredinibacter isolates. We subsequently identified extracellular metabolites associated with the QS regulon, including ones linked to the conserved biosynthetic gene cluster, using mass spectrometry-based molecular networking. Our results demonstrate that QS plays an important role in regulating secondary metabolism in this shipworm symbiont. This information provides a step towards deciphering the molecular details of the relationship between these symbionts and their hosts. Furthermore, because shipworm symbionts harbor vast yet underexplored biosynthetic potential, understanding how their secondary metabolism is regulated may aid future drug discovery efforts using these organisms.IMPORTANCE Bacteria play important roles as symbionts in animals ranging from invertebrates to humans. Despite this recognized importance, much is still unknown about the molecular details of how these relationships are formed and maintained. One of the proposed roles of shipworm symbionts is the production of bioactive secondary metabolites due to the immense biosynthetic potential found in shipworm symbiont genomes. Here, we report that a shipworm symbiont uses quorum sensing to coordinate activation of its extracellular secondary metabolism, including the transcriptional activation of a biosynthetic gene cluster that is conserved among many shipworm symbionts. This work is a first step towards linking quorum sensing, secondary metabolism, and symbiosis in wood-boring shipworms.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.