论文题目：A farnesol-sensing triad in Pseudomonas aeruginosa drives interkingdom predation on Candida albicans via signal transduction
论文作者：Zhiyan Wei, Changfu Li, Fengge Song, Xiaoying Zhang, Shuyu Li, Nuoping Xu, Jingchao Zhang, Yan Luo, Yuxin Zuo, Jitong Jiao, Haiyang He, Ruoyi Wang, Xiaozhen Liu, Zhongke Sun, Yantao Yang, Yao Wang, Wenqiang Chang, Hongxiang Lou, Jie Feng, Kun Zhao, Lingfang Zhu, Xihui Shen
论文摘要：Microbial interactions, particularly bacteria–fungus interactions, are research hotspots within microbial ecology and pathogenic biology. However, their underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood, especially how bacterial pathogens recognize and exploit fungal signaling molecules for fungal predation. Here, we demonstrate that Pseudomonas aeruginosa employs an integrated tripartite farnesol-sensing system to detect and eliminate Candida albicans hyphae: The chemoreceptor PctA mediates directional migration toward hyphae; the type IV pilus sensor PilJ activates antifungal type III secretion system (T3SS) expression; and the quorum regulator PqsR monitors farnesol levels to coordinate virulence-metabolic switching. This mechanism enables bacteria to convert farnesol into their own signaling language (Pseudomonas quinolone signal) according to fungi status, thereby adaptively modulating their virulence expression and metabolism to cope with complex competitive microbial environments. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis and functional validation confirm that the PctA–PilJ–PqsR triad is conserved across P. aeruginosa, suggesting that this interkingdom communication is widespread. In conclusion, this study reveals that P. aeruginosa orchestrates a targeted predation strategy against filamentous fungi by coordinating three interkingdom receptors, providing a theoretical foundation and potential molecular targets for understanding of interkingdom communication strategies among microorganisms and the development of signal molecule–based microbial prevention and control technologies.
微生物间相互作用，尤其是细菌-真菌互作，是微生物生态学与病原生物学领域的研究热点。然而其内在分子机制尚不明确，其中细菌病原体如何识别并利用真菌信号分子实现对真菌的捕食，相关机制更是研究空白。本研究发现，铜绿假单胞菌拥有一套完整的法尼醇三元感知系统，用以识别并杀伤白色念珠菌菌丝：趋化受体PctA介导细菌向菌丝定向迁移；IV型菌毛感受器PilJ激活抗真菌III型分泌系统（T3SS）的表达；群体感应调控蛋白PqsR通过感知法尼醇浓度，实现毒力与代谢过程的协同转换。该机制可使细菌根据真菌生长状态，将法尼醇信号转化为自身专属信号语言（假单胞菌喹诺酮信号PQS），进而适应性调控自身毒力表达与代谢过程，以适应复杂的微生物竞争环境。此外，生物信息学分析及功能验证证实，PctA–PilJ–PqsR三元受体系统在铜绿假单胞菌菌株中高度保守，表明此类跨界信号交流模式普遍存在。综上，本研究揭示了铜绿假单胞菌通过协同三类跨界受体，形成针对丝状真菌的靶向捕食策略，为解析微生物跨界交流机制、开发基于信号分子的微生物防控技术提供了理论依据与潜在分子靶点。
论文链接：https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2529531123