Modulation of violacein production and phenotypes associated with biofilm by exogenous quorum sensing N-acylhomoserine lactones in the marine bacterium Pseudoalteromonas ulvae TC14.

Various phenotypes ranging from biofilm formation to pigment production have been shown to be regulated by quorum sensing (QS) in many bacteria. However, studies of the regulation of pigments produced by marine bacteria in saline conditions and of biofilm-associated phenotypes are scarcer. This study focuses on the demonstration of the existence of a QS communication system involving N-acylhomoserine lactones (AHLs) in the Mediterranean Sea strain Pseudoalteromonas ulvae TC14.