Quorum Sensing and Environmental Sustainability

Quorum sensing (QS) is a molecular communication process of bacterial communities that helps to maintain their microbial integrity in various spheres of the environment. It is very important that bacteria communicate with each other. It helps one bacterial community to monitor the response of other communities in the same environment. Different levels of communication were observed among bacterial communities. Mineralization of nutrients is an important process of the soil environment. QS tends to play significant role in this process by regulating production of extracellular enzymes of the bacterial cell. In the process of enzyme production for nitrogen cycling, along with the bacterial activity, QS acts as the key point to regulate such processes. Other major applications of QS process include their role in bioluminescence, production of antibiotic molecules, and other bacteriological process. QS has also shown its potentiality in the field of wastewater treatment in the form of biofilm efficiency, aquaculture practice, litter decomposition, and many other allied ecological processes that help to move toward environmental sustainability.