Quorum sensing (QS) is a microbial signaling process for monitoring population density and complexity. Communication among bacterial cells via QS relies on the production, secretion, and detection of small molecules called autoinducers. Many bacteria have evolved their QS systems with different network architectures to incorporate information from multiple signals. In the human pathogen Vibrio cholerae, at least four parallel signaling pathways converge to control the activity of a single regulator to modulate its QS response. By integrating multiple signal inputs, it is believed that Vibrio species can survey intra-species, intra-genus, and inter-species populations and program their gene expression accordingly. Our recent studies suggest that this "many-to-one" circuitry is also important for maintaining the integrity of the input-output relationship of the system and minimizes premature commitment to QS due to signal perturbation. Here we discuss the implications of this specific parallel network setup for V. cholerae intercellular communication and how this system arrangement affects our approach to manipulate the QS response of this clinically important pathogen.
Keywords: Gene regulation; Pathogenesis; Quorum sensing; Signal transduction.