Large-Scale Identification of Known and Novel RRNPP Quorum-Sensing Systems by RRNPP_Detector Captures Novel Features of Bacterial, Plasmidic, and Viral Coevolution

Gram-positive Firmicutes bacteria and their mobile genetic elements (plasmids and bacteriophages) encode peptide-based quorum-sensing systems (QSSs) that orchestrate behavioral transitions as a function of population densities. In their simplest form, termed “RRNPP”, these QSSs are composed of two adjacent genes: a communication propeptide and its cognate intracellular receptor. RRNPP QSSs notably regulate social/competitive behaviors such as virulence or biofilm formation in bacteria, conjugation in plasmids, or lysogeny in temperate bacteriophages. However, the genetic diversity and the prevalence of these communication systems, together with the breadth of behaviors they control, remain largely underappreciated. To better assess the impact of density dependency on microbial community dynamics and evolution, we developed the RRNPP_detector software, which predicts known and novel RRNPP QSSs in chromosomes, plasmids, and bacteriophages of Firmicutes. Applying RRNPP_detector against available complete genomes of viruses and Firmicutes, we identified a rich repertoire of RRNPP QSSs from 11 already known subfamilies and 21 novel high-confidence candidate subfamilies distributed across a vast diversity of taxa. The analysis of high-confidence RRNPP subfamilies notably revealed 14 subfamilies shared between chromosomes/plasmids/phages, 181 plasmids and 82 phages encoding multiple communication systems, phage-encoded QSSs predicted to dynamically modulate bacterial behaviors, and 196 candidate biosynthetic gene clusters under density-dependent regulation. Overall, our work enhances the field of quorum-sensing research and reveals novel insights into the coevolution of gram-positive bacteria and their mobile genetic elements.