Quorum Sensing Compositions and Methods for Microbial Community Modulation

ChangeBridge: Patent Grants - Peptides (C07K)

Published April 7th, 2026

Detected April 7th, 2026

Summary

USPTO granted patent US12594307B2 to The Regents of the University of California for quorum sensing compositions and methods for modulating bacterial quorum sensing. The patent covers engineered bacterial strains with multiple activator polypeptide-encoding sequences and methods for tunable dynamics in microbial communities. Inventors include Jeff Hasty, Arianna Miano, and Michael Julius Liao, with applications spanning synthetic biology and therapeutic development.

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What changed

USPTO issued Patent No. US12594307B2 on April 7, 2026, granting The Regents of the University of California exclusive rights to quorum sensing modulation compositions and methods. The patent discloses bacterial strains engineered with four nucleic acid sequences encoding activator polypeptides that convert inducer molecules into quorum sensing molecules, enabling controlled induction of quorum sensing in microbial communities. The patent contains 12 claims and covers methods for tunable dynamics in bacterial populations.

Patent holders, licensees, and researchers in synthetic biology, antimicrobial development, and microbiome therapeutics should review the claims to assess potential licensing needs or freedom-to-operate implications. Companies developing quorum sensing-based therapeutics, bacterial consortium platforms, or engineered microbial systems may need to evaluate whether their technologies fall within the scope of these claims.

What to do next

Review patent claims to assess potential infringement exposure in quorum sensing or microbial community technologies
Evaluate licensing opportunities if developing products within the patent scope
Conduct freedom-to-operate analysis for any microbial engineering programs

Source document (simplified)

← USPTO Patent Grants

Compositions and methods of using inducible signaling for tunable dynamics in microbial communities

Grant US12594307B2 Kind: B2 Apr 07, 2026

Assignee

The Regents of the University of California

Inventors

Jeff Hasty, Arianna Miano, Michael Julius Liao

Abstract

Provided herein are compositions and methods for modulating induction of quorum sensing in bacterial cells. For example, provided herein is a method of inducing method of inducing quorum sensing, where the method includes: culturing a bacterial strain, wherein the bacterial strain comprises a first nucleic acid sequence encoding a first activator polypeptide, wherein expression of the first activator polypeptide produces a quorum sensing molecule precursor; a second nucleic acid sequence encoding a second activator polypeptide, wherein expression of the second activator polypeptide produces a quorum sensing; a third nucleic acid sequence encoding a third activator polypeptide that is capable of activating the quorum sensing system; a fourth nucleic acid sequence encoding a gene of interest, and contacting the bacterial strain with an inducer molecule; and converting the inducer molecule into a quorum sensing molecule, thereby allowing induction of quorum sensing.