title: Quorum sensing in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms.
abstract: In nature, the bulk of bacterial biomass is believed to exist as an adherent community of cells called a biofilm. Pseudomonas aeruginosa has become a model organism for studying this mode of growth. Over the past decade, significant strides have been made towards understanding biofilm development in P. aeruginosa and we now have a clearer picture of the mechanisms involved. Available evidence suggests that construction of these sessile communities proceeds by many different pathways, rather than a specific programme of biofilm development. A cell-to-cell communication mechanism known as quorum sensing (QS) has been found to play a role in P. aeruginosa biofilm formation. Because both QS and biofilms are impacted by the surrounding environment, understanding the full involvement of cell-to-cell signalling in establishing these complex communities represents a challenge. Nevertheless, under set conditions, several links between QS and biofilm formation have been recognized, which is the focus of this review. A role for antibiotics as alternative QS signalling molecules influencing biofilm development is also discussed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. dekievit@cc.umanitoba.ca
authors.forename: T R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: de Kievit
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D018441:Biofilms; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D053038:Quorum Sensing
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents