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Review

Metagenomic approaches to understanding phylogenetic diversity in quorum sensing

Pages 433-442 | Received 10 Sep 2013, Accepted 14 Jan 2014, Published online: 11 Feb 2014
 

Abstract

Quorum sensing, a form of cell–cell communication among bacteria, allows bacteria to synchronize their behaviors at the population level in order to control behaviors such as luminescence, biofilm formation, signal turnover, pigment production, antibiotics production, swarming, and virulence. A better understanding of quorum-sensing systems will provide us with greater insight into the complex interaction mechanisms used widely in the Bacteria and even the Archaea domain in the environment. Metagenomics, the use of culture-independent sequencing to study the genomic material of microorganisms, has the potential to provide direct information about the quorum-sensing systems in uncultured bacteria. This article provides an overview of the current knowledge of quorum sensing focused on phylogenetic diversity, and presents examples of studies that have used metagenomic techniques. Future technologies potentially related to quorum-sensing systems are also discussed.

10.4161/viru.27850

Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest

No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

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