Biology / Unit 4 Bio 0821 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Quorum Sensing in Bacteria
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The idea
Quorum sensing is bacterial signaling in which cells secrete autoinducer molecules; rising population density raises autoinducer concentration until it triggers a coordinated gene-expression change.
In practice
A bioluminescent bacterium inside a squid switches on its light-producing genes once the local population is dense enough.
Where people slip
Quorum sensing depends on cell density — a single bacterium's autoinducer alone is too dilute to trigger a response.
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