Quorum sensing is something that bacterial cells can use to communicate. The signals that the bacteria produce are N-acyl-homoserine lactones or AHLs. These signals can be received by the bacterial species or different bacterial species. There are two primary genes involved in quorum sensing. There is the I gene which codes for AHL synthase and the R gene which is a transcriptional regulator. Both of these genes are very unique and serve many functions. They both have two main functions though. AHL synthase, which the I gene codes for, is responsible for producing the AHL signal that other bacterial cells will be able to receive. The AHL binds to a receptor on a neighboring cell and a transcriptional response is activated, this is where the R gene begins to function. The R gene transcribes new DNA in response to the signal being received. For example the bacteria C. violaceum produces a purple pigmented antibiotic violacein, C. violaceum only produces this antibiotic after it has received a signal from a neighboring cell telling it to do so.
Recent comments