Quorum sensing

Quorum sensing is a system of stimulus and response correlated to population density. Many species of bacteria use quorum sensing to coordinate gene expression according to the density of their local population. In similar fashion, some social insects use quorum sensing to determine where to nest.

In addition to its function in biological systems, quorum sensing has several practical applications for computing, robotics, and future technologies.

Mechanism

Quorum sensing can function as a decision-making process in any decentralized system, as long as individual components have: (a) a means of assessing the number of other components they interact with and (b) a standard response once a threshold number of components is detected.

Bacteria

Some of the best-known examples of quorum sensing come from studies of bacteria. Bacteria use quorum sensing to coordinate certain behaviors based on the local density of the bacterial population. Quorum sensing allows bacteria populations to communicate and coordinate group behavior and commonly is used in processes such as bioluminescence, virulence, and biofilm formation.

Social insects

Social insects such as ants and bees use quorum sensing to identify the density of the colony population. If the population density is too high, the colony splits and a new queen and workers form a new colony.

Applications

Quorum sensing has several practical applications for computing, robotics, and future technologies.

See also

• Biofilm
• Cell signaling
• Vibrio fischeri
• Pseudomonas aeruginosa

External links

• Quorum sensing research at the University of Nottingham

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