Bioorganic chemistry of signaling molecules in microbial communication

Microorganisms produce and secrete a variety of secondary metabolites including fatty acids, polyketides, terpenoids, alkaloids, and peptides. Among them, many molecules act as chemical signals that play important roles in inter-/intra-species microbial communication or the interaction with host organisms. In this review, I focus on our recent reports of the microbial signaling molecules involved in bacterium-fungus, bacterium-plant, and fungus-plant interactions. Their potential contribution to pest management is also discussed.