Gene

SIGNAL (programming language)

Transmitter

Quantum mechanics

Horizontal gene transfer

Scale (ratio)

Biofilm

Bacteria

Biology

Materials science

Cell signaling

Signal transduction

Range (aeronautics)

Telecommunications

Computer science

Quorum sensing

Genetics

Physics

Gene transfer

Genome

Phylogenetics

Composite material

Programming language

Molecular communication

Channel (broadcasting)

Biological system

Virulence

Nature Communications

In bacterial communities, cells often communicate by the release and detection of small diffusible molecules, a process termed quorum-sensing. Signal molecules are thought to broadly diffuse in space; however, they often regulate traits such as conjugative transfer that strictly depend on the local community composition. This raises the question how nearby cells within the community can be detected. Here, we compare the range of communication of different quorum-sensing systems. While some systems support long-range communication, we show that others support a form of highly localized communication. In these systems, signal molecules propagate no more than a few microns away from signaling cells, due to the irreversible uptake of the signal molecules from the environment. This enables cells to accurately detect micron scale changes in the community composition. Several mobile genetic elements, including conjugative elements and phages, employ short-range communication to assess the fraction of susceptible host cells in their vicinity and adaptively trigger horizontal gene transfer in response. Our results underscore the complex spatial biology of bacteria, which can communicate and interact at widely different spatial scales.

Short-range quorum sensing controls horizontal gene transfer at micron scale in bacterial communities