N-butyryl-L-Homoserine lactone

N-butyryl-L-Homoserine lactone is a small diffusible signaling molecule involved in quorum sensing (QS) [1].

QS is a way of cell-to-cell communication that utilizes diffusible signaling molecules sensed by the population to determine population density, thus coordinating gene regulation in response to population density. The various potential applications of N-butyryl-L-Homoserine lactone includes virulence regulation, infection prevention, and biofilm formation [1]. In addition, N-butyryl-L-Homoserine lactone may also act as an elicitor from bacteria in plant [2].

In the excised root cells of Arabidopsis plants, 10 μM N-butyryl-L-Homoserine lactone induced a transient and immediate increase in the cytosolic free Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_cyt), the highest level of which was 0.4 μM, approximately 2-fold higher than the basal level. Pretreatments of verapamil, La³⁺ or ethylene glycol tetraacetic acid (EGTA) reversed the increase in [Ca²⁺]_cyt triggered by N-butyryl-L-Homoserine lactone, whilst it remained unaffected by pretreatment with Li⁺, indicating that the Ca²⁺ contributing to the increase in [Ca²⁺]_cyt was transferred from the extracellular medium via the plasma membrane Ca²⁺ channels but not from the intracellular Ca²⁺ storage. Furthermore, N-butyryl-L-Homoserine lactone significantly increased the transmembrane Ca²⁺ current [2].

References:

[1]. Wu D, Huang W, Duan Q, et al. Sodium houttuyfonate affects production of N-acyl homoserine lactone and quorum sensing-regulated genes expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Frontiers in Microbiology, 2014, 5(635): 1-9.

[2]. Song S, Jia Z, Xu J, et al. N-butyryl-homoserine lactone, a bacterial quorum-sensing signaling molecule, induces intracellular calcium elevation in Arabidopsis root cells. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 2011, 414(2): 355-360.