Background Information on GBL system

Bacterial communication and Synthetic Biology

Many microorganisms produce antibiotics in order to gain a competitive advantage over other organisms for their survival. However, coordination between members of the population is critical as the end products can be fatal for the colony if produced in an unregulated manner. One prominent mechanism employed is a mechanism of "voting" by members of the colony, by sensing and producing signalling molecules. If a large number of surrounding neigbours are producing the signalling molecules in response to an environmental cue, this is likely to indicate the right moment to produce antibiotics. S. Mehra, S. Charaniya, E. Takano, and W.-S. Hu. A bistable gene switch for antibiotic biosynthesis: The butyrolactone regulon in streptomyces coelicolor. PLoS ONE, 3(7), 2008. </ref>