But it is likely to be several years before any drugs emerge. And skeptics say trying to tame dangerous bacteria is risky because they may be able to multiply. If the drug were to wear off, they would turn virulent again, and there would be more of them. We wanted to look for things that would directly kill the bacteria. But even if it does not lead to new drugs, quorum sensing is forcing scientists to recognize that bacteria are more sophisticated than once thought.
Scientists say that quorum sensing makes sense from an evolutionary viewpoint.
The glowing marine bacteria, for instance, usually colonize squid or fish. In return for a home, they provide light that the squid or fish use to hunt prey or to blind or fool predators. But generating light takes a lot of energy and does not make sense if the light cannot be seen. The only reason to produce light is if it can be sensed or used by an animal. Quorum sensing has been found to be involved in numerous processes, like determining when bacteria exchange genes or release antibiotics to fight off other bacteria or fungi, according to Dr. Stephen K. Farrand, professor of crop sciences and microbiology at the University of Illinois.