Quorum sensing in class II bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria and its application -A review
产Ⅱ类细菌素乳酸菌群体感应及其应用

Quorum sensing (QS) refers to the behavior of microorganisms to control gene expression through detection the concentration of certain signal molecules, which is correlated with cell density. In many class II bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria (LAB), bacteriocin production is regulated by peptide pheromones via a QS mechanism. We reviewed, QS regulated class II bacteriocin production in LAB and its regulation mechanism, components of the QS system, as well as the application of QS mechanism. The study of QS mechanism of class II bacteriocin-producing LAB may provide a new platform for revealing the mechanism of fermentation control and regulating fermentation process. It also offers an alternative to the exploitation of food grade gene expression system.