Credit Seminar on Quorum Sensing

Quorum sensing is the regulation of gene expression in response to fluctuations in cell-population density.In a population of bacteria, each individual bacterium is capable of producing a signaling molecule (inducer) and each bacterium also has a receptor for the inducer. When the inducer binds to the receptor, it activates the transcription of certain genes, including those responsible for the synthesis of the inducer itself. As the bacterial population grows, the concentration of the inducer in the surroundings increases, causing more inducer molecules to be synthesized.  Gram-negative bacteria use acylated homoserine lactones as autoinducers, and Gram-positive bacteria use processed oligo-peptides to communicate.  AHL-mediated quorum sensing is one of the best characterized cell-to-cell communication mechanisms.More than 70 bacterial species are known to produce AHL-type quorum-sensing signals, with many producing multiple AHLs. Quorum sensingwas originally discovered in the luminescent bacterium Vibrio fischeri. In several bacteria, disrupting quorum sensing adversely affects biofilm formation. Insect species use quorum sensing to detect the nest. A very interesting example is that of the small ants of the species Temnothorax albipennis, which typically nest in rock crevices. The most important implication of all this for human beings is that once we understand how bacteria talk, we can find ways to block their communication.



Name of the Student : Binisha A
Reg No: 1741210049
Batch: M.Tech II Year
Name of the Guide : Dr. B.Usha