Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2013, 14, 13727-13747; doi:10.3390/ijms140713727 OPEN ACCESS International Journal of Molecular Sciences ISSN 1422-0067 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms Article The Organization of the Quorum Sensing luxI/R Family Genes in Burkholderia Kumari Sonal Choudhary 1, Sanjarbek Hudaiberdiev 1, Zsolt Gelencsér 2, Bruna Gonçalves Coutinho 1,3, Vittorio Venturi 1,* and Sándor Pongor 1,2,* 1 International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Padriciano 99, Trieste 32149, Italy; E-Mails:
[email protected] (K.S.C.);
[email protected] (S.H.);
[email protected] (B.G.C.) 2 Faculty of Information Technology, PázmányPéter Catholic University, Práter u. 50/a, Budapest 1083, Hungary; E-Mail:
[email protected] 3 The Capes Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil, Cx postal 250, Brasilia, DF 70.040-020, Brazil * Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mails:
[email protected] (V.V.);
[email protected] (S.P.); Tel.: +39-40-375-7300 (S.P.); Fax: +39-40-226-555 (S.P.). Received: 30 May 2013; in revised form: 20 June 2013 / Accepted: 24 June 2013 / Published: 2 July 2013 Abstract: Members of the Burkholderia genus of Proteobacteria are capable of living freely in the environment and can also colonize human, animal and plant hosts. Certain members are considered to be clinically important from both medical and veterinary perspectives and furthermore may be important modulators of the rhizosphere. Quorum sensing via N-acyl homoserine lactone signals (AHL QS) is present in almost all Burkholderia species and is thought to play important roles in lifestyle changes such as colonization and niche invasion.