Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

07:47
Anti-virulent Disruption of Pathogenic Biofilms using Engineered Quorum-quenching Lactonases
Published on: January 1, 2016
Quorum sensing in plaque biofilms: challenges and future prospects
Baswaraj Biradar1, Prapulla Devi
1Department of Prosthodontics, Indira Gandhi Institute of Dental Sciences, Puducherry, India. impressioncare@gmail.com
The Journal of Contemporary Dental Practice
|January 25, 2012
Summary
Quorum sensing allows bacteria in biofilms to communicate and coordinate activities. Interfering with this bacterial communication offers promising new strategies for preventing and treating dental caries and periodontal disease.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Molecular Biology
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Dental plaque biofilms are linked to periodontal disease and dental caries.
- Quorum sensing (QS) is a cell-to-cell communication mechanism used by bacteria in biofilms.
- QS regulates various bacterial activities, making it a target for therapeutic intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review quorum sensing in bacterial biofilms.
- To explore new research on interfering with bacterial quorum sensing.
- To highlight the potential of QS interference in combating oral diseases.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of in vitro studies on bacterial quorum sensing.
- Analysis of natural and synthetic methods for manipulating QS.
- Identification of QS signal machinery in microbial communities.
Main Results:
- Quorum sensing is crucial for bacterial communication and behavior regulation in biofilms.
- Studies have identified the basic cell-cell signaling machinery used by bacteria.
- Various methods for interfering with bacterial QS have been investigated.
Conclusions:
- Interfering with bacterial quorum sensing presents a promising avenue for novel therapeutic strategies.
- Further research is needed to develop effective QS interference mechanisms for oral diseases.
- Understanding bacterial communication in biofilms opens prospects for treating biofilm-related diseases.
Related Concept Videos
Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing
Quorum sensing is a mechanism of bacterial communication that enables coordinated gene expression in response to changes in population density. This facilitates collective behaviors that enhance survival, resource acquisition, and ecological adaptation. This process relies on small signaling molecules called autoinducers that accumulate as bacterial populations grow. When a critical threshold concentration of autoinducers is reached, bacterial cells collectively modify gene expression,...
Biofilms
Biofilms are complex communities of microorganisms encased in a self-produced extracellular polysaccharide matrix attached to surfaces. These microbial consortia can include single or multiple species, providing enhanced survival benefits by forming organized, multilayered structures.The formation of biofilms occurs through four key stages: attachment, colonization, development, and dispersal.During attachment, free-swimming planktonic cells adhere to a surface, often facilitated by...
Bacterial Signaling
Bacterial signaling can occur within bacteria (intracellular) or between bacteria (intercellular). At times, a group of bacteria behaves like a community. To achieve this, they engage in quorum sensing, the perception of higher cell density that causes changes in gene expression. Quorum sensing involves both extracellular and intracellular signaling. The signaling cascade starts with a molecule called an autoinducer (AI). Individual bacteria produce AIs that move out of the bacterial cell...

