A farnesol-sensing triad in Pseudomonas aeruginosa drives interkingdom predation on Candida albicans via signal transduction

作者：Zhiyan Wei, Changfu Li, Fengge Song, Xiaoying Zhang, Shuyu Li, 徐娜萍, Jingchao Zhang, Yan Luo, Yuxin Zuo, Jitong Jiao, Haiyang He, Ruoyi Wang, Xiaozhen Liu, Zhongke Sun, Yantao Yang, Yao Wang, Wenqiang Chang, Hongxiang Lou, Jie Feng, Kun Zhao, Lingfang Zhu, Xihui Shen · 发表于：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 年份：2026 · DOI：10.1073/pnas.2529531123 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Antifungal resistance and susceptibility、Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensing、Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology

Microbial interactions, particularly bacteria–fungus interactions, are research hotspots within microbial ecology and pathogenic biology. However, their underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood, especially how bacterial pathogens recognize and exploit fungal signaling molecules for fungal predation. Here, we demonstrate that Pseudomonas aeruginosa employs an integrated tripartite farnesol-sensing system to detect and eliminate Candida albicans hyphae: The chemoreceptor PctA mediates directional migration toward hyphae; the type IV pilus sensor PilJ activates antifungal type III secretion system (T3SS) expression; and the quorum regulator PqsR monitors farnesol levels to coordinate virulence-metabolic switching. This mechanism enables bacteria to convert farnesol into their own signaling language ( Pseudomonas quinolone signal) according to fungi status, thereby adaptively modulating their virulence expression and metabolism to cope with complex competitive microbial environments. Furthermore, bioinformatics analysis and functional validation confirm that the PctA–PilJ–PqsR triad is conserved across P . aeruginosa , suggesting that this interkingdom communication is widespread. In conclusion, this study reveals that P . aeruginosa orchestrates a targeted predation strategy against filamentous fungi by coordinating three interkingdom receptors, providing a theoretical foundation and potential molecular targets for understanding of interkingdom communication stra...