The Language of Bacteria

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The Scientist

Volume 18 | Issue 17 | 26 | Sep. 2004

Vision | The Language of Bacteria... and Just About Everything Else

Secrets to immune and endocrine function may lie in interkingdom

communication By Kendra Rumbaugh

Mammals possess sophisticated endocrine networks in which hormonal

signals modulate hundreds of biological effects such as cell differentiation,

reproduction, and immune responses. Disrupting these pathways often leads

to dire consequences such as birth defects and cancer. Though bacteria are

unicellular, they also possess signaling pathways that can be likened to

tiny endocrine systems.

Bacterial quorum sensing (QS) pathways allow bacteria to sense their cell

density and respond by coordinating protein expression. Thus bacteria

communicate and can coordinate their efforts in diverse activities such as

building biofilms, transferring DNA, or causing infections. QS has forced

microbiologists to view bacteria not as single entities but as interactive

and heterogeneous communities that must be studied within this context.

This interactivity and communication extends beyond microbes at

prokaryote-eukaryote interfaces such as the host-pathogen relationship.

Thus, much of what we are learning may extend beyond the microbial world.

Read this article at

http://www.the-scientist.com/yr2004/sep/research2_040913.html