The Potential Role of Quorum Sensing in Rumen Microbial Adaptation to Environmental and Nutritional Stress: A Review

Stress-induced perturbations in rumen microbial community structure and function disrupt fermentation homeostasis, consequently impairing production performance and increasing health risks in ruminants. Quorum sensing (QS), a crucial mechanism governing microbial collective behavior and intercellular communication, is increasingly recognized for its role in ecological adaptation of rumen microbiota, yet direct evidence for its regulatory role in the rumen remains limited. This review summarizes the impacts of diverse stressors, including heat stress, cold stress, transport stress, and nutritional stress, on rumen fermentation characteristics and microbial community composition. Building upon this foundation, we discuss the alterations in QS signaling molecules and elucidate underlying microbial adaptation mechanisms from the perspectives of homeostasis disruption, signal transduction, and collective behavior regulation. Although QS-based nutritional and management strategies have shown preliminary potential for alleviating rumen stress, their effectiveness under practical production conditions requires further validation. This review provides a conceptual framework for understanding the potential role of QS in rumen microbial adaptation to environmental and nutritional stress, while highlighting current knowledge gaps and future research directions.