Patent ID: 8663927

Claim:
A method of diagnosing a bacteria-related condition of interest in a subject, comprising: providing a biological sample from a subject; determining an amount in the sample of at least one quorum sensing molecule (QSM), comprising one or more QSMs selected from the group consisting of an autoinducer-2 (AI-2), and at least one short-chain N-acyl homoserine lactone (AHL) and at least one long-chain N-acyl homoserine lactone; and comparing the amount of the at least one QSM in the sample, if present, to a control level of the at least one QSM, wherein the subject is diagnosed as having the bacteria-related condition of interest or a risk thereof if there is a measurable difference in the amount of the at least one QSM in the sample as compared to the control level, wherein the bacteria-related condition of interest is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).