Programmable interphyla communication for Staphylococcus aureus by transferability of homoserine lactone sensors between Bacillales bacteria

Engineered LuxR-family homoserine lactone sensors function in Staphylococcus aureus, with activation reaching 55-fold after transferring designs from Bacillus subtilis.

• Why it matters: Precise gene control and intercellular signaling in S. aureus are constrained by limited, well-characterized genetic tools, especially for programmable communication.
• What they did: The team built synthetic HSL biosensors in S. aureus using LuxR-family regulators and tested transferability from Bacillus subtilis, then assessed sensor performance and interphyla signaling with Escherichia coli.
• The result: Sensor performance correlated strongly across the two Bacillales, and HSL signaling enabled tightly regulated, programmable communication between E. coli and S. aureus, extending an HSL-based engineering route to other difficult bacteria.

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