细菌群体感应分子水平调控机制研究进展

Research progress on molecular-level regulatory mechanism of bacterial quorum sensing

细菌群体感应(QS)指的是细菌细胞产生、识别并响应被称为自诱导物的细胞外信号分子,同时借助信号分子完成细胞-细胞之间的群体协同以应对环境的改变的过程。由于其在趋化效应、生物膜形成以及细菌定殖等方面具有重要作用,群体感应相关的基因已被鉴定,其相应的调控机制已被详细地阐明,主要分为细胞内群体感应全细胞调控机制、不同模式的种内细菌群体感应机制以及种间的群体感应调控机制三个层次。本文从以上三个方面对细菌群体感应分子水平的调控机制进行了综述,并对其未来的研究方向予以展望。

Quorum sensing（QS） is a process of bacterial cell-cell communication during which bacterial cells produce, detect and respond to extracellular signal molecules called autoinducers to respond to environmental changes. Due to its significant roles in bacterial chemotaxis, biofilm formation and colonization, QS-related genes and regulatory mechanisms have deeply been identified. Molecular-level QS regulatory mechanisms are mainly classified into three categories： intracellular global control, different-architecture regulatory network between intraspecies and communication mechanisms between interspecies. In this review, the three above molecular-level regulatory mechanisms of bacterial QS are outlined and its future research is prospected.