This research revealed that bacteria release chemical signal molecules that can be perceived by neighboring bacterial cells. The bacteria switch the light on and off in unison, and they do so, by communicating with one another, counting their cell numbers, and acting as collectives.Īlthough initially discovered in an obscure light-producing bacterial symbiont, it is now understood that the capacity to communicate and to undertake group behaviors is the norm in the bacterial world, and Bonnie Bassler has conducted pioneering research into this process, called quorum sensing. Consequently, the squid throws no shadow, and is thus invisible to and protected from predators. When the squid goes hunting near the ocean surface under the full moon, bacteria, housed in a special organ, generate light that allows the tiny cephalopod animal to blend in with the moonlight. The Hawaiian bobtail squid Euprymna scolopes uses symbiotic bacteria as an invisibility cloak. Groups of bacterial cells simultaneously detect the accumulated signal molecules, change their global gene expression patterns, and launch collective activities. The amount of the released signal molecule increases with increases in the number of bacterial cells present. The US researcher played a major role in the discovery that Earth’s most ancient unicellular organisms communicate with one another via chemical signalling molecules.
The winners of the Max Planck Research Award are investigating how organisms perceive their environment.
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