Quorum sensing (QS) signals are widely utilized by bacteria to regulate biological functions in response to cell population density. Previous studies have demonstrated that Ralstonia solanacearum employs two different types of QS systems. We report here that anthranilic acid controls important biological functions and the production of QS signals in R. solanacearum. It was demonstrated that the biosynthesis of anthranilic acid is mainly performed by TrpEG. The accumulation of anthranilic acid and the transcription of trpEG occur in a cell density-dependent manner in R. solanacearum. Both the anthranilic acid and TrpEG homologues are conserved in various bacterial species. Moreover, we show that Sporisorium scitamineum sexual mating and hypha formation are strongly inhibited by the addition of exogenous anthranilic acid. Our results suggest that anthranilic acid is important for the physiology of bacteria in addition to its role in inter-kingdom communication.

细菌广泛使用群体感应（QS）信号来响应细胞群体密度来调节生物学功能。先前的研究表明，青枯雷尔氏菌使用两种不同类型的QS系统。我们在这里报告，邻氨基苯甲酸控制重要的生物学功能和青枯菌中QS信号的产生。已证明邻氨基苯甲酸的生物合成主要由TrpEG完成。氨茴酸的积累和转录trpEG发生在细胞密度依赖性青枯雷尔氏菌。邻氨基苯甲酸和TrpEG的同系物在各种细菌物种中都是保守的。此外，我们表明，孢子囊外源邻氨基苯甲酸的添加强烈抑制了性交和菌丝的形成。我们的研究结果表明，邻氨基苯甲酸除了在国王之间的交流中发挥作用外，还对细菌的生理至关重要。