In tests, Chromobacterium violaceum ATCC 12472 produced several N-acyl-L-homoserine lactones (AHLs). Of these, N-(3-hydroxydecanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone was dominant, and controlled violacein production by quorum sensing. Strain VIR07, an AHL-deficient mutant, did not produce violacein. Violacein production in VIR07 was induced by adding long-chain AHLs (C10-C16), but was inhibited by adding short-chain AHLs (C4-C8). Strain VIR07 showed the response of violacein production when AHLs diffused from a variety of AHL-producing bacteria on agar plates, and thus might be a useful biosensor for recognizing exogenous AHLs.

Chromobacterium violaceum produces the purple pigment violacein by quorum-sensing regulation. 20-bp of the lux box-like sequence was found upstream of vioA in C. violaceum ATCC 12472. CviR received C10-HSL and C6-HSL and activated the transcription of vioA in Escherichia coli. However, in strain ATCC 12472, C6-HSL inhibited both C10-HSL-mediated violacein production and the transcription of vioA.