AUTHOR=Coulon Pauline M. L. , Groleau Marie-Christine , Déziel Eric 

TITLE=Potential of the Burkholderia cepacia Complex to Produce 4-Hydroxy-3-Methyl-2-Alkyquinolines

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/cellular-and-infection-microbiology/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2019.00033

DOI=10.3389/fcimb.2019.00033

ISSN=2235-2988

ABSTRACT=<p>A few <italic>Burkholderia</italic> species, especially <italic>Burkholderia pseudomallei, Burkholderia thailandensis, Burkholderia ambifaria</italic>, and <italic>Burkholderia cepacia</italic>, are known to produce and release various 4-hydroxy-3-methyl-2-alkylquinolines (HMAQs), a family of molecules analogous to the 4-hydroxy-2-alkylquinolines [aka 2-n-alkyl-4(1<italic>H</italic>)-quinolones] of <italic>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</italic>, which include the <italic>Pseudomonas</italic> quinolone signal (PQS). However, while these exoproducts play several roles in <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic> virulence and survival, the available literature is very limited on their distribution and function in <italic>Burkholderia</italic>. In this perspective article, we studied the distribution of the <italic>hmqABCDEFG</italic> operon, which encodes the enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of HMAQs, in the <italic>Burkholderia cepacia</italic> complex (Bcc) group. Based on the available sequence data, about one third of Bcc species carry a homolog of the <italic>hmqABCDEFG</italic>, and not all sequenced strains in a given species possess this operon. Looking at the synteny of genes surrounding the <italic>hmqABCDEFG</italic> operon, we found that for some species, the operon seems to have been deleted or replaced by other genes. Finally, we review the literature on the possible function of HMAQs. Understanding the Hmq system may provide clues concerning their functions in Bcc.</p>