Abstract
Quorum sensing is employed by bacteria to control gene expression, by communicating through signals, necessary to confer advantageous traits in a community. We now understand that to counter susceptibility to phages in communities, bacteria evolved specialized adaptive immune system called CRISPR-Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated proteins) system that may use quorum sensing for its regulation. As a countermeasure, phages have also evolved diverse mechanisms to evade the defense strategies. The chapter discusses the dynamics of this co-evolutionary war, understanding of which will help pave way for many biotechnological applications. An important aspect includes refining tools such as quorum-sensing inhibition and phage therapy that are utilized to control many biofilm-forming bacterial infections.
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Acknowledgments
We sincerely acknowledge the support and guidance provided by Prof. Yogendra Singh, Department of Zoology, University of Delhi, for this work and Dr. Anupam Kumar Mondal, CSIR-IGIB, India for insights into the field of CRISPR biology.
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Singh, A., Gaur, M., Misra, R. (2018). Understanding the Connect of Quorum Sensing and CRISPR-Cas System: Potential Role in Biotechnological Applications. In: Kalia, V. (eds) Quorum Sensing and its Biotechnological Applications. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-0848-2_15
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