In a recent study, the production of pyoverdine (PVD), a type of siderophore, in the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been explored. This study focused on the construction, modeling, and dynamic simulation of PVD biosynthesis, a virulence factor, through a systemic approach. This approach considers that the metabolic pathway of PVD synthesis is regulated by the phenomenon of quorum-sensing (QS), a cellular communication system that allows bacteria to coordinate their behavior based on their population density.
The study showed that as bacterial growth increases, so does the extracellular concentration of QS signaling molecules, thus emulating the natural behavior of P. aeruginosa PAO1. To carry out this study, a metabolic network model of P. aeruginosa was built based on the iMO1056 model, the genomic annotation of the P. aeruginosa PAO1 strain, and the metabolic pathway of PVD synthesis. This model included the synthesis of PVD, transport reactions, exchange, and QS signaling molecules.
The resulting model, called CCBM1146, showed that the QS phenomenon directly influences the metabolism of P. aeruginosa towards the biosynthesis of PVD as a function of the change in QS signal intensity. This work is the first in silico report of an integrative model that comprises the QS gene regulatory network and the metabolic network of P. aeruginosa, providing a detailed view of how the production of pyoverdine and siderophores in Pseudomonas aeruginosa are influenced by the quorum-sensing phenomenon