Acyl-Homoserine Lactone Quorum Sensing: From Evolution to Application

Quorum sensing (QS) is a widespread process in bacteria that employs autoinducing chemical signals to coordinate diverse, often cooperative activities such as bioluminescence, biofilm formation, and exoenzyme secretion. Signaling via acyl-homoserine lactones is the paradigm for QS in Proteobacteria...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annual review of microbiology 2013-01, Vol.67 (1), p.43-63
Main Authors: Schuster, Martin, Joseph Sexton, D, Diggle, Stephen P, Peter Greenberg, E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acyl-Butyrolactones - metabolism
Bacteria - genetics
Bacterial Physiological Phenomena
Biofilms
Biological Evolution
Bioluminescence
cheating
cooperation
Enzyme kinetics
Enzymes
Evolution
Gram-negative bacteria
Industrial Microbiology
Pathogens
Pseudomonas
Pseudomonas aeruginosa - genetics
Pseudomonas aeruginosa - metabolism
public good
QS inhibition
Quorum Sensing
Signal transduction
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Summary:Quorum sensing (QS) is a widespread process in bacteria that employs autoinducing chemical signals to coordinate diverse, often cooperative activities such as bioluminescence, biofilm formation, and exoenzyme secretion. Signaling via acyl-homoserine lactones is the paradigm for QS in Proteobacteria and is particularly well understood in the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Despite thirty years of mechanistic research, empirical studies have only recently addressed the benefits of QS and provided support for the traditional assumptions regarding its social nature and its role in optimizing cell-density-dependent group behaviors. QS-controlled public-goods production has served to investigate principles that explain the evolution and stability of cooperation, including kin selection, pleiotropic constraints, and metabolic prudence. With respect to medical application, appreciating social dynamics is pertinent to understanding the efficacy of QS-inhibiting drugs and the evolution of resistance. Future work will provide additional insight into the foundational assumptions of QS and relate laboratory discoveries to natural ecosystems.
ISSN:0066-4227
1545-3251
DOI:10.1146/annurev-micro-092412-155635