Quorum sensing

Quorum sensing is like having a conversation with the people around you. When you're talking to someone, you can sense when there are enough people around so that you can decide if you want to continue the conversation. Quorum sensing works the same way with bacteria. Bacteria can sense how many of them there are in a certain area, and they can use this information to decide if they should change their behavior. For example, they might decide to form a biofilm (a slimy layer of bacteria) on surfaces or produce a toxin that can be harmful to other organisms. Quorum sensing helps the bacteria work together to survive in their environment.