Citation
Cross-kingdom signaling: exploitation of bacterial quorum sensing molecules by the green seaweed Ulva
TL;DR
Cross-kingdom detection of bacterial quorum-sensing signals occurs
This paper demonstrated that quorum sensing is not just intraspecies communication - other organisms can eavesdrop on and respond to bacterial signals. The green seaweed Ulva detects and responds to bacterial autoinducers, showing that quorum-sensing signals create an information environment that competitors and hosts can exploit.
The finding has implications for competitive strategy: coordination signals are observable, and competitors may detect and respond to your quorum formation.
Key Findings from Joint et al. (2007)
- Cross-kingdom detection of bacterial quorum-sensing signals occurs
- Seaweed Ulva responds to bacterial autoinducers
- Quorum sensing creates an observable information environment
- Organisms can evolve to exploit or interfere with others' coordination signals