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Rethinking Microbial Chemical Ecology: Secondary Metabolites as Concentration-Dependent Signaling Hubs with
Jiayuan Cheng1, Zhenhua Zhao1, Binglu Teng1
1Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lake of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China.
Microorganisms
|May 27, 2026
Summary
Microorganisms use secondary metabolites as signaling molecules, challenging traditional views. This integrated network framework reveals how microbes balance growth and communication for collective behavior and adaptation.
Area of Science:
- Microbial Ecology
- Chemical Ecology
- Systems Biology
Background:
- Microbial communities use chemical signals for social organization.
- Traditional research separates quorum-sensing (QS) molecules from secondary metabolites, limiting understanding.
- Secondary metabolites can function as signaling molecules at low concentrations.
Purpose of the Study:
- Propose an integrated signaling network framework for microbial chemical ecology.
- Explore how this network links collective behavior, environmental adaptation, and metabolite synthesis.
- Highlight tools for deciphering microbial signaling networks and their applications.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual framework development.
- Review of recent studies on dual-function metabolites.
- Introduction of spatial omics and synthetic biology tools.
Main Results:
- Secondary metabolites act as nodes in a dynamic signaling network.
- This network integrates microbial collective behavior with environmental adaptation.
- Microorganisms balance cell growth and metabolite synthesis via this network.
Conclusions:
- Reframing chemical ecology as a dynamic signaling network is crucial.
- This perspective offers new strategies for antibiotic resistance, microbiome regulation, and biotechnology.
- Spatial omics and synthetic biology are key to understanding microbial signaling networks.
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