QUORUM SENSING AND GROUP SELECTION

Bacteria respond to cell density by expressing genes whose products are beneficial to the population as a whole. This response is brought about through the release into the medium of signaling molecules of the class N-acyl homoserine lactones, the concentration of which determines the level of gene expression. This form of communication between cells has been termed "quorum sensing," and has been found to operate in the control of many functions in a variety of gram-negative bacteria. As with all signaling between individuals, if fitness costs are associated with the release of and response to the signal, the inclusive fitness of alleles responsible for the phenomenon depends upon genetic relatedness between signaler and responder. The situation is considered in explicit models for bacterial population genetics, in which the critical parameter determining the success of quorum sensing is the mean number of cells founding a population sharing a patch of resource. It is found that extensive polymorphism for the presence or absence of quorum sensing is expected for a wide range of parameter space. If local communities of bacteria contain diverse species, community stability may be the consequence of these interactions rather than polymorphism.