An organism grown in a high nutrient liquid broth to high turbidity always appears to produce a blue pigment and even when a large inoculum is transferred to a nutrient rich agar plate it appears blue.When the researcher noticed it never appears blue when very small colonies were grown in low nutrient agar plates.What is the most plausible conclusion?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fact that the organism only produces the blue pigment in high nutrient liquid broth to high turbidity suggests that it is linked to quorum sensing, where the population density triggers the production of the metabolite. This is supported by the observation that when a large inoculum is transferred to a nutrient-rich agar plate, it still appears blue. The lack of blue pigment production in small colonies grown in low nutrient agar plates also supports this conclusion, as the low population density would not trigger quorum sensing. Options A, B, and D do not account for the observed pattern of pigment production.

An Organism Grown in a High Nutrient Liquid Broth to High