Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.
Trends Microbiol. 2012 Dec;20(12):586-94. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2012.09.004. Epub 2012 Oct 18.
Two hypotheses, termed quorum sensing (QS) and diffusion sensing (DS), have been suggested as competing explanations for why bacterial cells use the local concentration of small molecules to regulate numerous extracellular behaviours. Here, we show that: (i) although there are important differences between QS and DS, they are not diametrically opposed; (ii) empirical attempts to distinguish between QS and DS are misguided and will lead to confusion; (iii) the fundamental distinction is not between QS and DS, but whether or not the trait being examined is social; (iv) empirical data are consistent with both social interactions and a role of diffusion; (v) alternate hypotheses, such as efficiency sensing (ES), are not required to unite QS and DS. More generally, work in this area illustrates how the use of jargon can obscure the underlying concepts and key questions.
两种假说，即群体感应（QS）和扩散感应（DS），被提出作为竞争解释，以说明为什么细菌细胞使用小分子的局部浓度来调节众多细胞外行为。在这里，我们表明：（i）尽管 QS 和 DS 之间存在重要差异，但它们并非截然相反；（ii）区分 QS 和 DS 的经验尝试是有误导性的，会导致混淆；（iii）基本区别不在于 QS 和 DS，而在于所检查的特征是否是社会性的；（iv）经验数据与社会相互作用和扩散作用都一致；（v）不需要替代假说，如效率感应（ES），来统一 QS 和 DS。更一般地说，该领域的工作说明了术语的使用如何掩盖了潜在的概念和关键问题。
