title: Inter-kingdom signalling: communication between bacteria and their hosts.
abstract: Microorganisms and their hosts communicate with each other through an array of hormonal signals. This cross-kingdom cell-to-cell signalling involves small molecules, such as hormones that are produced by eukaryotes and hormone-like chemicals that are produced by bacteria. Cell-to-cell signalling between bacteria, usually referred to as quorum sensing, was initially described as a means by which bacteria achieve signalling in microbial communities to coordinate gene expression within a population. Recent evidence shows, however, that quorum-sensing signalling is not restricted to bacterial cell-to-cell communication, but also allows communication between microorganisms and their hosts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas 75235, USA.
authors.forename: David T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Vanessa
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sperandio
mesh_terms: D015107:4-Butyrolactone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism; D054742:Acyl-Butyrolactones / Q000378:metabolism; D001419:Bacteria / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D005057:Eukaryotic Cells / Q000382:microbiology*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D006728:Hormones / Q000378:metabolism; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D010944:Plants / Q000382:microbiology*; D015398:Signal Transduction
chemical_list: D054742:Acyl-Butyrolactones; D006728:Hormones; C030654:N-(3-oxohexanoyl)-3-aminodihydro-2(3H)-furanone; D015107:4-Butyrolactone