Gram-positive bacteria can release signaling peptides that are ‘probed’ by intracellular receptors after being pumped into the cytoplasm. Here, Babel et al. show that these pump-probe networks can infer the fraction of signal-producing cells in a mixed population, and do not necessarily mediate typical quorum-sensing control.
- Heiko Babel
- Pablo Naranjo-Meneses
- Ilka B. Bischofs
