quorum sensing

Scientific  

/ kwôr′əm /

1. A phenomenon in which a population of bacteria produces and responds to intercellular chemical signals whose concentration indicates the density of the population. When the density reaches a certain level, genes are expressed that allow for coordinated group behavior, as in bioluminescence or the formation of biofilms.

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Example Sentences

Inside the human mouth, roughly 700 different bacterial species constantly exchange information through a process called quorum sensing.

From Science Daily

"When we blocked AHL signaling in aerobic conditions, we saw more health-associated bacteria. But when we added AHLs under anaerobic conditions, we promoted the growth of disease-associated late colonizers. Quorum sensing may play very different roles above and below the gumline, which has major implications for how we approach treatment of periodontal diseases."

From Science Daily

The glow of quorum sensing in bacteria may act as a different invitation: when a colony runs low on food in the open water, it may glow to encourage nearby fish to come and consume the bacteria, consequently sustaining the bacteria in their guts.

From Scientific American

Such conditions, he hypothesizes, could foster superdense bacterial populations whose quorum sensing extends vertically as well as horizontally to adjacent colonies, magnifying the depth and breadth of the resulting milky sea.

From Scientific American

Other sleuths have since suggested that the steady glow results from “quorum sensing,” the ability of bacteria to communicate through chemical signaling.

From Scientific American