Quorum-sensing Cascades Governing Bacterial Multicellular Communities

Quorum sensing (QS) is an efficient mode of intercellular communication between bacteria. This mode is regulated by self-produced small chemical signals, activating dedicated receptors once accumulated. Numerous architecturally complex QS cascades are cardinal for governing bacterial behaviors, such as pathogenicity, luminescence, and bacterial competence. Importantly, QS cascades are essential for the formation of bacterial multicellular communities. Once informed via QS cascades, motile cells often organize themselves into conspicuous multicellular structures that carry out specialized tasks. This review focuses on the major QS systems, playing an active role in the rise of complex bacterial communities in different bacterial models.