How has infection by Francisella tularensis been combated through manipulation of quorum sensing?
What will be an ideal response?
Francisella tularensis is a bacterium known to cause a disease called rabbit fever. This disease is typically confined to other mammals like rabbits that serve as reservoirs, where the disease is actually contracted by humans through biting insect vectors such as ticks and mosquitoes. Pneumonic tularemia includes skin ulcers (where the bacteria enter the body) followed by swelling of the lymph nodes.
Part of the virulence of this pathogen is the production of pedestals on the cells they are infecting. These pedestals are produced only when bacterial densities are high - a classic example of quorum sensing.
To try to inhibit the virulence of Francisella, a group of scientists identified a molecule called LED 209, which appeared to be very similar to the autoinducer of Francisella, yet not toxic to animals. This AI mimic inhibited binding of the real AI molecule and therefore limited the expression of the virulence genes. The researchers took things a step further and looked at how applying this molecule in a mouse model affected mouse survival when challenged with the pathogen.
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