ANTIQUORUM SENSING COMPOUNDS – A NOVEL APPROACH FOR BACTERIAL DISEASE MANAGEMENT

Quorum sensing is a communication system between bacteria for a communication between them, which allows them to coordinate infections based on their population size and bypass host defence mechanisms. This process relies on small, diffusible signalling molecules called autoinducers, their concentration increases with increase in number of bacteria. Through quorum sensing, bacteria regulate various collective behaviors, such as bioluminescence, biofilm formation, survival on plant surfaces, virulence factor production, antimicrobial secondary metabolites, siderophores, plasmid transfer, pigments, and motility. With antibiotic resistance on the rise due to excessive use, there is a growing need for alternative antibacterial strategies. One promising strategy is to use the quorum sensing inhibitors (QSIs) or anti-biofilm agents, which disrupt bacterial communication and prevent disease. These inhibitors work through different mechanisms, such as blocking autoinducer synthesis, interfering with their transport, degrading them with enzymes, sequestering them with monoclonal antibodies, or competing with signals to disrupt quorum sensing pathways. While QSIs have high specificity, making them effective for targeted plant disease management, further research is needed to evaluate their potential toxicity in plants and their broader ecological effects on organisms, populations, and cellular systems.