11] A general method to identify bacterial genes regulated by cell-to-cell signaling

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the importance of cell-to-cell signaling in the formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms, which has led to an interest in discussing the general role of intercellular signaling in bacterial biofilm formation. Several studies have demonstrated that quorum sensing signals are produced in aquatic biofilms and on catheterassociated biofilms from patients. Quorum sensing signals have been shown to promote recovery from starvation in Nitrosomonas europaea. These data raise the possibility that cell-to-cell signaling is an important requirement for biofilm development in many types of bacteria. The close association of cells in a biofilm community creates an ideal environment for effective communication among cells. To study the relationship between cell-to-cell signaling and biofilm development, a fundamental understanding of the signals and the response pathways is required. The first step to this understanding is the identifcation of genes regulated by cell-to-cell signaling. The analysis of bacterial transcriptional and translational control signals has been greatly simplified by the use of reporter gene fusions.