Quorum sensing (QS) is a widespread process in bacteria used to coordinate gene expression with cell density, diffusion dynamics, and spatial distribution through the production of diffusible chemical signals. To date, most studies on QS have focused on model bacteria that are amenable to genetic manipulation and capable of high growth rates, but many environmentally important bacteria have bee...

Food spoilage may be defined as a process that renders a product undesirable or unacceptable for consumption and is the outcome of the biochemical activity of a microbial community that eventually dominates according to the prevailing ecological determinants. Although limited information are reported, this activity has been attributed to quorum sensing (QS). Consequently, the potential role of ...

The highly purified saponin derivative, QS-21, from the Quillaja saponaria Molina tree has been proved to be safe for parenteral administration and represents a potential alternative to bacterial enterotoxin derivatives as a mucosal adjuvant. Here we report that p.o. administration of QS-21 with the vaccine protein tetanus toxoid elicited strong serum IgM and IgG Ab responses, which were only s...

Acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL)-mediated quorum sensing (QS) controls the production of numerous intra- and extracellular products across many species of Proteobacteria. Although these cooperative activities are often costly at an individual level, they provide significant benefits to the group. Other potential roles for QS include the restriction of nutrient acquisition and maintenance of metabo...

The haemodynamic effects of hydralazine were studied in seven infants and a child, each with a large ventricular septal defect. Hydralazine, 0.3 mg/kg, was administered intravenously. This caused a lowering of pulmonary arterial pressure from 57 +/- 4 mmHg to 49 +/- 4 mmHg, and a lowering of left atrial pressure from 12 +/- 1 mmHg to 10 +/- 1 mmHg. Systemic vascular resistance was reduced from ...

Quorum sensing (QS) refers to the capacity of bacteria to monitor their population density and regulate gene expression accordingly: the QS-regulated processes deal with multicellular behaviors (e.g. growth and development of biofilm), horizontal gene transfer and host-microbe (symbiosis and pathogenesis) and microbe-microbe interactions. QS signaling requires the synthesis, exchange and percep...

Many Proteobacteria use acyl-homoserine lactone-mediated quorum-sensing (QS) to activate specific sets of genes as a function of cell density. QS often controls the virulence of pathogenic species, and in fact a previous study indicated that QS was important for Burkholderia mallei mouse lung infections. To gain in-depth information on the role of QS in B. mallei virulence, we constructed and c...