In silico structural analysis of quorum sensing genes in Vibrio fischeri

Quorum sensing controls the luminescence of Vibrio fischeri through the transcriptional activator LuxR and the specific autoinducer signal produced by luxI. Amino acid sequences of these two genes were analyzed using bioinformatics tools. LuxI consists of 193 amino acids and appears to contain five α-helices and six ß-sheets when analyzed by SSpro8. LuxI belongs to the autoinducer synthetase family and contains an acetyltransferase domain extending from residues 24 to 110 as MOTIF predicted. LuxR, on the other hand, contains 250 amino acids and has ten α-helices and four ß-sheets. MOTIF predicted LuxR to possess functional motifs; the inducer binding site extending from amino acid residues 23 to 147 and the LuxR activator site extending between amino acids 182 and 236. The InterProScan5 server identified a winged helix-turn-helix DNA binding motif.