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What?

The process of bacterial communication

Is dependent on cell-population density

Results in the alteration of gene expression

How?

Individual bacteria have proteins which produce autoinducers

An increase bacterial cell density (population) causes an increase in autoinducers

Autoinducers bind to receptors on the surface of bacterial cells

This activates an alteration in gene expression

Results in protein production of mass amounts

Overcoming Bacterial Resistance

Scientists have produced synthetic molecules to resemble the autoinducers

These molecules jam the receptor and prevent the organic molecule from binding

Prevents activation of gene which causes disease

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Bacterial Quorum Sensing and its Potential for Therapeutic Drugs 

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Bacterial Quorum Sensing and its Potential for Therapeutic Drugs 

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Quorum Sensing - Bacterial Communication 

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Quorum Sensing - Bacterial Communication 

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Quorum sensing: Melissa Miller and Bonnie Bassler (2001) define quorum sensing as being the process and regulation of gene expression in response to fluctuations in cell-population density

- 10x more bacterial cells than human cells

- 100x more bacterial genes than human genes

- All bacteria have enzymes that produce molecules and all bacteria have a receptor to  detect these molecules
- Quorum sensing bacteria produce and release chemical signal molecules called autoinduces that increase in concentration as a function of cell density
-When this molecules is sensed it acts as a form of communication between the bacteria to them to perform a certain task
-  Bacteria doesn’t initiate virulence bacteria/pathogenicity  immediately. They wait and multiply in a host until sufficient number of bacteria grow and then ‘attack’ all at once
- Bacteria are multi-lingual: intraspecies and interspecies

- Bacteria can distinguish from each other
-  Antibiotics are being produced to TARGET THE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
- Molecules that  imitate the actual bacterial molecules to prevent them from proper communication
- Squid example: Symbiosis between nocturnal squid and vibrio fischeri: uses light from bacteria to hide its shadow to hunt
- Also made pro-quorum sensing molecules

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Bacteria is a single cell microscopic organism and they have 1 piece of DNA

They consume nutrients from the environment and they grow by dividing

The bacteria in our body is very important for our survival.

Bacteria have communication networks to perform tasks in unison

For example Vibro fischeri, when the bacteria were alone, they didn’t make light but when they were in a community, they made light

They talk by chemical secretions and when they divide, other bacteria recognise that and they make light

Bacterial Quorum sensing: they vote by chemical sensing and then this vote gets recognised by the group and then they agree with the vote

They have methods of inter and intraspecies communication and with increasing antibiotic resistance, manipulation of these mechanisms can be the answer to treating bacterial infection

Intra-species communication:

Bacteria are multi-lingual.

Bacteria talk to each other

Bacteria carry tasks as a group

Bacteria can distinguish self from other

Bacteria are multicellular

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Quorum Sensing: the regulation of gene expression in response to fluctuations in cell population density. This is achieved through release of species unique signalling molecules.

Intraspecies: unique enzyme secreted and recognised by specific bacterial species
Interspecies: common 5 carbon molecule made/recognised by ALL bacteria

Signalling molecules secreted autoinducers, this is how quorum sensing occurs interspecies. Concentration of external autoinducer is correlated with population cell density

Possible utilisation:
- Production of a molecule that blocked or inhibited the usage of signal chemicals or receptors could be used to our advantage. We would have the ability to control bacterial growth.
- Bacteria specific antibiotics
- Universal antiquorum antibiotics
- Proquorum sensing molecules to improve chemical signal rate to promote "good" bacteria.