"SMALL TALK: CELL-TO-CELL COMMUNICATION IN BACTERIA"
The
research in my laboratory
focuses on the molecular mechanisms that bacteria use for intercellular
communication. The bacterial
communication phenomenon that we study is called quorum sensing. Quorum sensing is the control of gene
expression
in response to cell density. Quorum
sensing bacteria produce, release and detect hormone-like molecules
called
autoinducers that accumulate in the environment as the bacterial cell
density
increases. When a threshold stimulatory
concentration of autoinducer is detected, a signal transduction cascade
is
initiated and results in an alteration in gene expression.
It has recently been shown that hundreds of
species of bacteria produce and detect autoinducers to regulate gene
expression
in response to changing cell density.
Quorum sensing controls many diverse bacterial functions. These processes include; virulence factor
production, conjugative DNA transfer, symbiosis, and antibiotic
production. Presumably, quorum sensing
enables bacteria to coordinate their behavior, to act like
multi-cellular
organisms, and to acquire the benefits of cooperative activity.