How Bacteria Talk

 How Bacteria Talk

Dr. Bonnie Bassler has been a part of research to understand bacterial behavior for 30 years. Over her time as a researcher, she has made many groundbreaking discoveries that have led to advancements in bacterial breakthroughs. 

To begin, it is crucial to understand that bacteria are the Earth’s most ancient organisms. Previously, people believed that bacteria were very primitive and they have only been known about for 500 years. Until recently, scientists have believed that bacteria are asocial, as a result of their primitiveness. This is entirely untrue. People are constantly collaborating with their microbiomes and microorganisms, they give us vitamins, help digest vegetables, help the immune response, and more. This is due to the communication between individual bacteria. 

This breakthrough in bacteria was discovered by looking at squid symbiosis. The vibrio fischeri bacteria provides bioluminescence for the Bobtail Hawaiian Squid when it goes out to hunt at night. The squid has sensors on its back to measure the amount of moonlight refracting through the ocean. The bacteria then adjust its concentration accordingly, and the squid can camouflage itself from predators and prey. For more information on the squid, watch below!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5-VcJyZRc4?si=3BwKTaJfR4BB_Diy&w=560&h=315]

The reason this works is because of bacterial quorum sensing. Each bacteria releases autoinducer molecules that sense the presence of other bacteria. When the molecules sense a certain concentration of other bacteria, that will cause the bacteria to light up or to act according to their species. Bacteria also have sensors for other species of bacteria and even eukaryotic cells. 

The part that I found the most interesting was that by using these discoveries, scientists can use them to stop the pathogenicity of clinically relevant bacteria. People are in the process of creating molecules that interrupt bacterial quorum sensing. Some are inhibitors that block the response of bacteria to these molecules, rendering them “deaf,” or overstimulating the bacteria with false molecules that will cause the bacteria to act too soon and reveal themselves to the immune system. These are incredible breakthroughs that are eliminating the need to depend on antibiotics.