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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2023 Feb 21.
Published in final edited form as: Adv Exp Med Biol. 2022;1386:95–115. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-08491-1_4

Figure 2. Evolutionary considerations of QS-regulated secretions:

Figure 2.

Several features of P. aeruginosa that prevent exploitation by QS cheats have been described. These include, amongst others, A) Density dependence, or the nature of QS as a mechanism to isolate facultative cooperative behaviors to periods when more cooperators are present, and B) Policing through QS-regulated hydrogen cyanide production. In addition to QS-regulated production of the toxic metabolite hydrogen cyanide (CN− anion shown), cooperators also conditionally regulate the cyanide insensitive terminal oxidase encoded by cioAB. Respiration is impaired by cyanide in LasR mutant cheaters.