Abstract
In several Gram-positive bacteria, competence and sporulation are few of several physiological processes controlled by quorum sensing (QS). Competence is a phenomenon wherein a bacterium acquires extracellular DNA for its maintenance. Only a fraction of cells (10–20 %), in a population, develop competence, at a particular window of growth phase, and in response upregulate expression of genes involved in the uptake and processing of extracellular DNA. Sporulation, second QS-controlled phenotype, occurs under extreme stress and nutritional scarcity. Prolonged nutrient deprivation compels the cell to enter the process of sporulation, the outcome of which is the production of a metabolically dormant endospore that resumes growth once the conditions become favorable again. Spore formation is a complex and tightly regulated phenomenon, where several hundred genes are directly and indirectly involved. Regulation of competence and sporulation is a complex and temporally regulated process. In present chapter, we will discuss QS driven regulation of competence and sporulation in different Gram-positive bacteria.
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Rai, N., Rai, R., Venkatesh, K.V. (2015). Quorum Sensing in Competence and Sporulation. In: Kalia, V. (eds) Quorum Sensing vs Quorum Quenching: A Battle with No End in Sight. Springer, New Delhi. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1982-8_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-81-322-1982-8_6
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