June 13, 2006
Bacteria Chit Chat
This may be common knowledge to you biologists but I, and I suspect many others, had no idea that those nifty and sometimes nasty little prokaryots could communicate amongst themselves and sometimes between species:
...the ability bacteria have to communicate across species using a small molecule called autoinducer-2 (AI-2). This simple sugar, produced by scores of microbes including Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Vibrio cholera, and several species of bioluminescent marine bacteria, allows bugs to assess the density of the local prokaryotic population and to adjust their behavior accordingly: throwing off light, spewing out toxins, or forming slimy biofilms.Bonnie Bassler who is the expert on this stuff is working toward developing a broad-spectrum antibiotic based on these systems.
Cool!
Posted by Steve on June 13, 2006
