Progress in and promise of bacterial quorum sensing research

This Review highlights how we can build upon the relatively new and rapidly developing field of research into bacterial quorum sensing (QS). We now have a depth of knowledge about how bacteria use QS signals to communicate with each other and to coordinate their activities. In recent years there have been extraordinary advances in our understanding of the genetics, genomics, biochemistry, and signal diversity of QS. We are beginning to understand the connections between QS and bacterial sociality. This foundation places us at the beginning of a new era in which researchers will be able to work towards new medicines to treat devastating infectious diseases, and use bacteria to understand the biology of sociality. A Review of the genetics, biochemistry, ecology and evolution of bacterial quorum sensing. Bacterial quorum sensing is a strategy for regulating gene expression that orchestrates collective group behaviour. In this Review, Peter Greenberg and colleagues explore the progress that has been made in understanding bacterial quorum sensing, including the genetics, biochemistry and ecology of these systems, which are used by bacteria to communicate and to coordinate their behaviour. They also discuss the future outlook for this field in terms of understanding sociality in bacteria, and how these systems could be used to develop antibacterial agents.