Command, control and communication in bacterial pathogenesis

• Published in: Trends in microbiology (Regular ed.) Vol. 6; no. 10; pp. 382 - 383
• Main Author: Winans, Stephen C
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.10.1998
• Subjects: 4-Butyrolactone - analogs & derivatives; 4-Butyrolactone - metabolism; Bacterial Infections - etiology; Bacterial Proteins - metabolism; biofilm; DNA-Binding Proteins - metabolism; Enterococcus faecalis; Homoserine - analogs & derivatives; Homoserine - metabolism; LASI; LASR; Myxococcus xanthus; pathogenesis; Pheromones - metabolism; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - metabolism; quorum sensing; Signal Transduction; Streptomyces; Trans-Activators - metabolism; Vibrio fischeri; Vibrio harveyi; LASI; pathogenesis; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; quorum sensing; biofilm; LASR
• ISSN: 0966-842X; 1878-4380
• DOI: 10.1016/S0966-842X(98)01338-9

As recently as a few years ago, it was thought that the exchange of chemical signals between bacteria was the exception rather than the rule. A few examples of interbacterial signaling had been well described, including the bioluminescence regulatory systems of Vibrio fischeri and Vibrio harveyi (which are astonishingly dissimilar at the molecular level), the conjugal transfer system of Enterococcus faecalis, the development of multicellular fruiting bodies of Myxococcus xanthus and the production of antibiotics by Streptomyces spp. However, most other bacteria were assumed not to use intercellular signals. Furthermore, although these regulatory systems were fascinating subjects of research, none seemed terribly fundamental to human health and welfare.