Interplay between Sublethal Aminoglycosides and Quorum Sensing: Consequences on Survival in V. cholerae

Antibiotics are well known drugs which, when present above certain concentrations, are able to inhibit the growth of certain bacteria. However, a growing body of evidence shows that even when present at lower doses (subMIC, for sub-minimal inhibitory concentration), unable to inhibit or affect microbial growth, antibiotics work as signaling molecules, affect gene expression and trigger important bacterial stress responses. However, how subMIC antibiotic signaling interplays with other well-known signaling networks in bacteria (and the consequences of such interplay) is not well understood. In this work, through transcriptomic and genetic approaches, we have explored how quorum-sensing (QS) proficiency of V. cholerae affects this pathogen’s response to subMIC doses of the aminoglycoside tobramycin (TOB). We show that the transcriptomic signature of V. cholerae in response to subMIC TOB depends highly on the presence of QS master regulator HapR. In parallel, we show that subMIC doses of TOB are able to negatively interfere with the AI-2/LuxS QS network of V. cholerae, which seems critical for survival to aminoglycoside treatment and TOB-mediated induction of SOS response in this species. This interplay between QS and aminoglycosides suggests that targeting QS signaling may be a strategy to enhance aminoglycoside efficacy in V. cholerae.