Quorum sensing and biofilm formation in Streptococcal infections

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Abstract

Members of the bacterial genus Streptococcus are responsible for causing a wide variety of infections in humans. Many Streptococci use quorum-sensing systems to regulate several physiological properties, including the ability to incorporate foreign DNA, tolerate acid, form biofilms, and become virulent. These quorum-sensing systems are primarily made of small soluble signal peptides that are detected by neighboring cells via a histidine kinase/response regulator pair.

Authors

Dennis G. Cvitkovitch, Yung-Hua Li, Richard P. Ellen