Visiting speaker Professor Leo Eberl will present: “The various connections between quorum sensing, biofilm formation, and vesiculation”

Many bacteria have evolved cell-to-cell signaling mechanisms, referred to as quorum sensing (QS), to co-ordinate their activities. Using the opportunistic pathogen Burkholderia cenocepacia H111 as model organism, the role of QS in biofilm formation, virulence and expression of bioactive molecules has been investigated. It is also shown that endolysin-triggered “explosive cell lysis” is not only a novel mechanism for bacterial membrane vesicle biogenesis but also leads to the release of eDNA, which is an important structural element of biofilm streamers.