Quorum sensing is a fundamental process to all of microbiology since it is
ubiquitous in the bacterial world, where bacterial cells communicate with each other
using low molecular weight signal molecules called autoinducers. Despite the fact that
quorum sensing regulates numerous bacterial behaviours, very few studies have
addressed the role of this phenomenon in foods.
The microbial association of beef consists mainly of pseudomonads,
Enterobacteriaceae, Brochothrix thermosphacta and lactic acid bacteria as revealed
by minced beef samples purchased from retail shops, which fluctuates according to
the storage conditions. Certain members of the microbial association, which are
considered to produce signal molecules, have been found to be major contributors to
meat spoilage. Pseudomonas fragi and Enterobacteriaceae strains, i.e., Hafnia alvei
and Serratia liquefaciens are among the most common quorum sensing signal
producers recovered from various food environments. Cont/d
