GO:0000155

Catalysis of the phosphorylation of a histidine residue in response to detection of an extracellular signal such as a chemical ligand or change in environment, to initiate a change in cell state or activity. The two-component sensor is a histidine kinase that autophosphorylates a histidine residue in its active site. The phosphate is then transferred to an aspartate residue in a downstream response regulator, to trigger a response. [GOC:bf, GOC:mcc, PMID:10966457, PMID:20223701, PMID:9191038]