They are talking, are you listening: Bacterial Communication and Community Behaviour

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• Rita Monson, Department of Biochemistry, Cambridge University
• Tuesday 28 June 2005, 12:30-13:30
• Room 911, Cavendish Laboratory.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Ryan Prescott Adams.

Bacteria use a wide variety of simple signaling molecules to communicate both within their own species and with other species around them. Infection progression, community behaviour, virulence, spore formation and bioluminescence (light production) are often controlled by simple chemical signals released by different bacterial species into the environment. It is easiest to consider these signals as early pheromones. The bacteria sense the number of signaling molecules in their environment and when they sense that their population number has reached a certain ‘quorum’ they act accordingly, either by forming spores, producing light or in the case of Erwinia, attacking a plant. Our lab uses basic microbiological tools to study this process known as ‘quorum sensing’ in the plant pathogen Erwinia carotovora and in the animal pathogen Serratia marscesans. I aim to focus on the broad themes in ‘quorum sensing’ and how bacteria are using chemical signals to ensure successful infections despite our efforts to stop them.

This talk is part of the Offtopic Lunch series.

This talk is included in these lists:

• All Talks (aka the CURE list)
• Cambridge Infectious Disease
• Cambridge Infectious Diseases
• Hanchen DaDaDash
• Inference Group Summary
• Room 911, Cavendish Laboratory

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