Oxygenated unsaturated fatty acids, known as oxylipins, are signaling molecules commonly
used for cell-to-cell communication in eukaryotes. However, a role for oxylipins in mediating
communication in prokaryotes has not previously been described. Bacteria mainly
communicate via quorum sensing, which involves the production and detection of diverse
small molecules termed autoinducers. Here we show that oleic acid-derived oxylipins
produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa function as autoinducers of a novel quorum sensing …