The aeromicrobiome: the selective and dynamic outer-layer of the Earth's microbiome.

The atmosphere is an integral component of the Earth's microbiome. Abundance, viability, and diversity of microorganisms circulating in the air are determined by various factors including environmental physical variables and intrinsic and biological properties of microbes, all ranging over large scales. The aeromicrobiome is thus poorly understood and difficult to predict due to the high heterogeneity of the airborne microorganisms and their properties, spatially and temporally.

Quorum sensing enhancement of the stress response promotes resistance to quorum quenching and prevents social cheating.

Quorum sensing (QS) coordinates the expression of virulence factors and allows bacteria to counteract the immune response, partly by increasing their tolerance to the oxidative stress generated by immune cells. Despite the recognized role of QS in enhancing the oxidative stress response, the consequences of this relationship for the bacterial ecology remain unexplored. Here we demonstrate that QS increases resistance also to osmotic, thermal and heavy metal stress.