Isolation of novel quorum-sensing active bacteria from microbial mats in Shark Bay Australia

Researchers have identified novel quorum-sensing active bacteria in the microbial mats of Shark Bay, Western Australia. The study, published in FEMS Microbiology Ecology, isolated 30 unique bacterial strains from a library of 165, belonging to Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Firmicutes, which activated an AHL biosensor. Notably, several of these isolates, including members of Virgibacillus, Halobacillius, Microbacterium, and Brevibacterium, have not been previously shown to produce signal molecules. The presence of multiple signaling molecules was further confirmed using thin-layer chromatography (TLC). This is the first study to delineate AHL-based signaling in Shark Bay's microbial mats, suggesting that quorum sensing may play a significant role in coordinating complex phenotypes within these communities.

Charlesworth, J. C., Watters, C., Wong, H. L., Visscher, P. T., & Burns, B. P. (2019). Isolation of novel quorum-sensing active bacteria from microbial mats in Shark Bay Australia. FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 95(4). https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiz035