| Primary Identifier | IPR033676 | Type | Family |
| Short Name | AI-2_kinase |
| description | Autoinducers are signal molecules involved in quorum sensing, the process of chemical communication that bacteria use to assess cell population density and synchronize behaviour. The molecule (S)-4,5-dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione (DPD) is produced by many different species of bacteria and is the precursor of the signal molecule autoinducer-2 (AI-2).A variety of bacterial species have the ability to sequester and process the AI-2 present in their environment, thereby interfering with the cell-cell communication of other bacteria. This process involves the lsr operon, induced by AI-2. This operon consists of a transport system that facilitates uptake of the signal, a kinase that phosphorylates the signal to phospho-DPD (P-DPD), and enzymes that are responsible for processing the phosphorylated signal, thereby terminating induction of the lsr operon [].Autoinducer-2 kinase (also known as LsrK) phosphorylates AI-2. Phosphorylation serves to trap and activate AI-2 within the cell []. Phosphorylated AI-2 (phospho-DPD) binds and inactivates the transcriptional repressor protein LsrR thereby inducing the expression of the lsr operon and potentially other LsrR-regulated, quorum sensing-related genes [, ]. |
