Publications
*Faculty 1000 Evaluation
Rating 6: RecommendedEvaluated by: Giordano Rampioni and Paul Williams, University of Nottingham, UK
“..this manuscript provides new insights into GlcNAc metabolism and sensing, opening up the possibility of P. aeruginosa adopting a peptidoglycan monitoring strategy to facilitate competition with Gram-positive bacteria occupying the same environmental niche…”
*Faculty 1000 Evaluation
Rating 9: recommended and must readEvaluated by: Yvonne Sun and Mary O'Riordan; University of Michigan Medical School, USA
“…this key finding highlights the important role of the resident microbial community during infection, which can actively affect pathogen metabolism. Therefore, models that accommodate a polymicrobial setting may be needed in order to identify relevant metabolic requirements of a given pathogen.”
Evaluated by: Robert Palmer; National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, USA
“…this manuscript demonstrates a situation in which direct association of a commensal oral bacterium with a periodontal pathogen results in increased virulence…Here, we learn that the ability of Aa to metabolize L-lactate in the presence of Sg results in enhanced persistence and increased virulence in a mouse abscess model. These results add to the growing body of evidence that, in vivo, Aa can respond directly and positively to the presence of Sg, and in a manner that has no detrimental effect for the commensal. A case of having one's cake and eating it too?”
Schertzer, J. W. & M. Whiteley, (2011) Microbial communication superhighways. Cell 144: 469-470.
Bull, J. J., T. S. Jessop & M. Whiteley, (2010) Deathly drool: evolutionary and ecological basis of septic bacteria in Komodo dragon mouths. PloS one 5: e11097.
*Faculty 1000 Evaluation
Rating 10: ExceptionalEvaluated by: Robert Palmer; National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, USA
“A quorum of one? Or of millions? This paper elegantly shows that population size, while certainly important to the bacterial small molecule signaling that is known colloquially as 'quorum sensing', is just one factor in an equation that includes volume and flow rate (diffusion).”
*Faculty 1000 Evaluation
Rating 8: Must readEvaluated by: Lawrence Mulcahy and Kim Lewis; Northeastern University, USA
“This study identifies a small set of genes whose expression level is either up- or down-regulated in several strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from different cystic fibrosis (CF) patients and thus helps us to understand how this pathogen adapts during chronic infection of CF patients' lungs.”
*Faculty 1000 Evaluation
Rating 6: recommendedEvaluated by: Matthew Fletcher and Paul Williams; University of Nottingham, UK
“In this study, oxygen is shown to modulate alkyl quinolone-dependent quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa via PqsH, an FADH-dependent mono-oxygenase that catalyzes the terminal step of Pseudomonas quinolone signal (PQS) biosynthesis…Although hypothesised for some time, the confirmation of PqsH as the enzyme responsible in the final stage of AQ synthesis for the conversion of 2-alkyl-4-(1H)-quinolones to 2-alkyl-3-hydroxy-4-(1H)-quinolones -- and more specifically HHQ to PQS -- represents a significant milestone in our understanding of AQ biosynthesis and the oxygen dependent modulation of QS.”
*Faculty 1000 Evaluation
Rating 6: recommendedEvaluated by: Robert Palmer; National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, USA
“In the presence of a commensal streptococcus, a periodontal pathogen upregulates a protective factor against host defense -- good guys can make the bad guys badder.”
*Faculty 1000 Evaluation
Rating 10: Must readEvaluated by: Ben Lugtenberg; Leiden University, Netherlands
“Mashburn-Warren et al. studied the molecular mechanism by which the signal molecule PQS, the Pseudomonas Quinolone Signal 2-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4-quinolone which is involved in quorum sensing, is involved in the formation of membrane vesicles by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. They found that, together with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), PQS forms liposome-like structures with dimensions similar to natural membrane vesicles.”
Evaluated by: Fergal O'Gara; University College Cork, Ireland
“This paper extensively analyses the interaction between PQS, HHQ signal molecules, and the bacterial outer membrane lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Evidence is provided that PQS interacts with the acyl chains and 4'-phosphate of bacterial LPS.”
Palmer, K. L., L. M. Aye & M. Whiteley, (2007a) Nutritional cues control Pseudomonas aeruginosa multicellular behavior in cystic fibrosis sputum. J Bacteriol 189: 8079-8087.
Palmer, K. L., S. A. Brown & M. Whiteley, (2007b) Membrane-bound nitrate reductase is required for anaerobic growth in cystic fibrosis sputum. J Bacteriol 189: 4449-4455.
Dietrich, L. E., A. Price-Whelan, A. Petersen, M. Whiteley & D. K. Newman, (2006) The phenazine pyocyanin is a terminal signalling factor in the quorum sensing network of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Mol Microbiol 61: 1308-1321.
Huang, J. J., A. Petersen, M. Whiteley & J. R. Leadbetter, (2006) Identification of QuiP, the product of gene PA1032, as the second acyl-homoserine lactone acylase of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1. Appl Environ Microbiol 72: 1190-1197.
Moreira, C. G., K. Palmer, M. Whiteley, M. P. Sircili, L. R. Trabulsi, A. F. Castro & V. Sperandio, (2006) Bundle-forming pili and EspA are involved in biofilm formation by enteropathogenic Escherichia coli. J Bacteriol 188: 3952-3961.
Teitzel, G. M., A. Geddie, S. K. De Long, M. J. Kirisits, M. Whiteley & M. R. Parsek, (2006) Survival and growth in the presence of elevated copper: transcriptional profiling of copper-stressed Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J Bacteriol 188: 7242-7256.
Mashburn, L. M., A. M. Jett, D. R. Akins & M. Whiteley, (2005) Staphylococcus aureus serves as an iron source for Pseudomonas aeruginosa during in vivo coculture. J Bacteriol 187: 554-566.
Mashburn, L. M. & M. Whiteley, (2005) Membrane vesicles traffic signals and facilitate group activities in a prokaryote. Nature 437: 422-425.
*Faculty 1000 Evaluation
Rating 19: Must read and exceptionalEvaluated by: Eric S Gilbert; Georgia State University, USA
“The authors' work provides a whole new concept of how prokaryotes signal to one another.”
Evaluated by: Gerald Pier; Harvard Medical School, USA
“Mashburn and Whiteley's work in this paper provides an excellent mechanistic explanation for how hydrophobic quorum-sensing molecules, such as the quinolone signals made by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, can be produced in a manner to mediate cell to cell communication.”
Palmer, K. L., L. M. Mashburn, P. K. Singh & M. Whiteley, (2005) Cystic fibrosis sputum supports growth and cues key aspects of Pseudomonas aeruginosa physiology. J Bacteriol 187: 5267-5277.
Ramsey, M. M. & M. Whiteley, (2004) Pseudomonas aeruginosa attachment and biofilm development in dynamic environments. Mol Microbiol 53: 1075-1087.
Smalley, D. J., M. Whiteley & T. Conway, (2003) In search of the minimal Escherichia coli genome. Trends Microbiol 11: 6-8.
Chugani, S. A., M. Whiteley, K. M. Lee, D. D'Argenio, C. Manoil & E. P. Greenberg, (2001) QscR, a modulator of quorum-sensing signal synthesis and virulence in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 98: 2752-2757.
Kim, J. W., L. O. Flowers, M. Whiteley & T. L. Peeples, (2001a) Biochemical confirmation and characterization of the family-57-like alpha-amylase of Methanococcus jannaschii. Folia Microbiol (Praha) 46: 467-473.
Kim, J. W., H. A. Terc, L. O. Flowers, M. Whiteley & T. L. Peeples, (2001b) Novel, thermostable family-13-like glycoside hydrolase from Methanococcus jannaschii. Folia Microbiol (Praha) 46: 475-481.
*Faculty 1000 Evaluation
Rating 7: RecommendedEvaluated by: David A Relman; Stanford University, USA; Microbiology
“These observations provide clues about bacterial survival mechanisms and possible novel strategies for human intervention.”
*Faculty 1000 Evaluation
Rating 6: RecommendedEvaluated by: Bonnie Bassler; Princeton University, USA; Microbiology
“The authors find that specific bases in the promoter elements of the various P. aeruginosa quorum sensing controlled genes are responsible for determining the specificity for interaction with a particular autoinducer-transcriptional regulator complex. This manuscript will be interesting to scientists who study promoter structure, promoter protein-DNA interactions and transcription.”
Whiteley, M., J. R. Ott, E. A. Weaver & R. J. McLean, (2001b) Effects of community composition and growth rate on aquifer biofilm bacteria and their susceptibility to betadine disinfection. Environ Microbiol 3: 43-52.
Whiteley, M., M. R. Parsek & E. P. Greenberg, (2000) Regulation of quorum sensing by RpoS in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. J Bacteriol 182: 4356-4360.
McLean, R. J., M. Whiteley, B. C. Hoskins, P. D. Majors & M. M. Sharma, (1999) Laboratory techniques for studying biofilm growth, physiology, and gene expression in flowing systems and porous media. Methods Enzymol 310: 248-264.
Whiteley, M., K. M. Lee & E. P. Greenberg, (1999) Identification of genes controlled by quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 96: 13904-13909.
