The lux autoinducer-receptor interaction in Vibrio harveyi: binding parameters and structural requirements for the autoinducer.

To assess the binding parameters and the structure-function relationship of the Vibrio harveyi lux autoinducer, N-(D-3-hydroxybutanoyl)homoserine lactone (D-HBHL), to light emission, a series of acylhomoserine lactone analogues were synthesized and their effects on the stimulation of luminescence of an autoinducer-deficient mutant of V. harveyi, D1, examined. Of the analogues with 3-hydroxyacyl chains, only N-(3-hydroxyvaleryl)homoserine lactone (HVHL) could act as an inducer, with about 85% of the potency of D-HBHL in stimulation of luminescence; the apparent Kd of the putative receptor for HVHL was 3.8 microM, close to that for the natural autoinducer (1.4 microM). Analogues with longer 3-hydroxyacyl chains, N-(3-hydroxyhexanoyl)homoserine lactone and N-(3-hydroxyheptanoyl)homoserine lactone, acted as competitive inhibitors of HBHL with apparent KI values of 77 and 53 microM respectively. Replacement of the 3-hydroxybutanoyl moiety with a 3-methylbutanoyl or 3-methoxybutanoyl group created weak competitive inhibitors, N-(isovaleryl)- and N-(3-methoxybutanoyl)- homoserine lactones, with apparent KI values of 150 and 360 microM respectively. Two other analogues, N-(2-hydroxybutanoyl)- and N-(4-hydroxybutanoyl)-homoserine lactone, could neither stimulate nor inhibit luminescence. The approach used in these studies to demonstrate binding of autoinducer analogues at the same site, as well as measurement of the relative dissociation constant, may be of value in analysing analogues activating or inhibiting luminescence and other processes that are under control of acylhomoserine lactone autoregulators.