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Localization of Quorum Sensing by Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS): Considerations of In Situ Signaling

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The Physical Basis of Bacterial Quorum Communication

Part of the book series: Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering ((BIOMEDICAL))

Abstract

Quorum sensing (QS) and other forms of chemical sensing are now realized to be important processes regulating group behaviors of microbial cells involved in health-related pathogenic infections, commensal gut flora, as well as those in natural environments. The physical migration of molecules from a sender-cell to a receiver-cell most often occurs via simple diffusion. However, under in situ conditions, most QS activities occur within biofilms where groups of cells are suspended in a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). In biofilms, the densities, compositions, and properties of EPS, which vary over small (i.e. micrometer) spatial scales, and the water pore spaces located between adjacent EPS molecules will influence the motion and direction(s) of signal molecules. Dense EPS gels have the capacity to interact with, localize, and concentrate signals and other small molecules. Therefore, it becomes essential to understand how the EPS matrix might influence signaling and the dispersion of signals; most especially in situ. This review addresses properties of the EPS matrix, and how signals may interact with the matrix to facilitate or diminish quorum sensing among microbial cells within a biofilm.

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  1. Microbial Interactions Laboratory, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, 29208, USA

    Alan W. Decho

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  1. Department of Physics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

    Stephen J. Hagen

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Decho, A.W. (2015). Localization of Quorum Sensing by Extracellular Polymeric Substances (EPS): Considerations of In Situ Signaling. In: Hagen, S. (eds) The Physical Basis of Bacterial Quorum Communication. Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1402-9_6

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