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Quorum sensing in bacteriaM B Miller et al. Annu Rev Microbiol. 2001. AbstractQuorum sensing is the regulation of gene expression in response to fluctuations in cell-population density. Quorum sensing bacteria produce and release chemical signal molecules called autoinducers that increase in concentration as a function of cell density. The detection of a minimal threshold stimulatory concentration of an autoinducer leads to an alteration in gene expression. Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria use quorum sensing communication circuits to regulate a diverse array of physiological activities. These processes include symbiosis, virulence, competence, conjugation, antibiotic production, motility, sporulation, and biofilm formation. In general, Gram-negative bacteria use acylated homoserine lactones as autoinducers, and Gram-positive bacteria use processed oligo-peptides to communicate. Recent advances in the field indicate that cell-cell communication via autoinducers occurs both within and between bacterial species. Furthermore, there is mounting data suggesting that bacterial autoinducers elicit specific responses from host organisms. Although the nature of the chemical signals, the signal relay mechanisms, and the target genes controlled by bacterial quorum sensing systems differ, in every case the ability to communicate with one another allows bacteria to coordinate the gene expression, and therefore the behavior, of the entire community. Presumably, this process bestows upon bacteria some of the qualities of higher organisms. The evolution of quorum sensing systems in bacteria could, therefore, have been one of the early steps in the development of multicellularity. Similar articles
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How are gene expressions controlled in prokaryotes?The regulation of gene expression in prokaryotic cells occurs at the transcriptional level. There are three ways to control the transcription of an operon: repressive control, activator control, and inducible control.
Which of the following is a means for prokaryotes to coordinate gene expression unavailable to eukaryotes?Prokaryotic cells can only regulate gene expression by controlling the amount of transcription.
What are some mechanisms by which gene expression is regulated in prokaryotes and eukaryotes?Gene expression in prokaryotes is mostly regulated at the transcriptional level (some epigenetic and post-translational regulation is also present), whereas in eukaryotic cells, gene expression is regulated at the epigenetic, transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational, and post-translational levels.
What are the transcription start and stop signals in eukaryotes and prokaryotes?Eukaryotes contain mRNAs that are monocystronic. Termination in prokaryotes is done by either rho-dependent or rho-independent mechanisms. In eukaryotes transcription is terminated by two elements: a poly(A) signal and a downstream terminator sequence (7).
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