| Quorum sensing is a strategy of intercellular communication within a unicellular population enabling the regulation of its genetic and metabolic function in response to cellular density. In effect it allows a bacterial population to function as a coordinated multicellular organism to the benefit of the population as a whole. Its role as a universal control system within bacterial populations has now been well described (Dunny 1997). The understanding of the mechanisms of such systems is important in furthering research into probiotics and is commented upon here. |