DOCSLIB.ORG

A Rhetorical Genealogy of Bacterial Psychology by Jennifer R

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Rhetorical Genealogy of Bacterial Psychology by Jennifer R Title Page A Rhetorical Genealogy of Bacterial Psychology by Jennifer R. Saltmarsh B.A. in English, University of California, Berkeley, 2007 M.A. English Composition, San Francisco State University, 2011 Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Pittsburgh 2019 Committee Membership Page UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH DIETRICH SCHOOL OF ARTS AND SCIENCES This dissertation was presented by Jennifer R. Saltmarsh It was defended on August 8, 2019 and approved by Cory Holding, Assistant Professor, Department of English, University of Pittsburgh Stephen Carr, Associate Professor, Department of English, University of Pittsburgh Richard Doyle, Edwin Earle Sparks Professor, Department of English, Pennsylvania State University Dissertation Director: Don Bialostosky, Department of English, University of Pittsburgh ii Copyright © by Jennifer R. Saltmarsh 2019 iii Abstract A Rhetorical Genealogy of Bacterial Psychology Jennifer R. Saltmarsh, PhD University of Pittsburgh, 2019 This dissertation traces the historical trajectory of an idea: that we can learn about human perception and sensation by studying how microorganisms make decisions. Alfred Binet— experimental psychologist and master hypnotist—first put forward this idea in The Psychic Life of Microorganisms (1888). To investigate how Binet’s claim came to life eighty years later, I focus on research that I call “bacterial psychology.” This research studies microbial relations to, and influence upon, humans. To engage this research I approach rhetorical theory in two primary ways. First, I practice rhetoric of science in the traditional sense when I analyze scientists’ metaphors about microbes, which lean towards anthropomorphism. I engage rhetorical theory differently when I suggest we can use microbiome research to enhance theories of the body, to see suasive agency at the material and bodily level. In doing this, I step outside the established bounds of rhetoric of science—but with the intention of broadening the field and fostering dialogue between rhetoric and microbiome research. As the biological sciences explore the terra incognita of our non-discursive interactions, the exigence increases for humanities scholars to join conversations that are redefining the human. Our bodies and minds are being framed as distributed and composed of a multiplicity of agents, challenging assumptions about autonomy, individuality, and genetic determinism. Additionally, I argue that understanding ourselves as enmeshed with our environs enables us to be more responsive, and responsible, to our environs and to each other. To this end I synthesize research on microbial ecology with philosophies and worldviews that faded as the sciences developed, such iv as indigenous ecological knowledge, ancient Buddhism, and panpsychism—the idea that mind is derived from feeling and exists even in primitive life forms. In cross-pollinating these ideas with rhetorical theory and microbial ecology, I contribute to conversations in animal studies, ecological, and cultural rhetorics that question the locus of self. I conclude by synthesizing rhetorical theory on group identification, hypnosis, and suggestibility with microbiome research that echoes Binet’s suggestion—that microbes make decisions and we can learn about ourselves by studying them. v Table of Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................... x 1.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 2.0 Julius Adler: Bacterial Motility Spells Death of Man ....................................................... 15 2.1 Binet’s Foray into Microbiology ................................................................................. 19 2.2 Julius Adler Traipses around New Age-ncy .............................................................. 28 2.3 Adler’s Latter Day Speculations: In Search of a Reductionist Agency? ................. 48 2.4 Transitional Conclusion: From Adler’s E. coli Psychology to Margulis’s Spirochete- Mind ..................................................................................................................................... 51 3.0 Lynn Margulis: Ecological Literacy and the Spirochete-Mind ........................................ 56 3.1 Lynn Margulis: Three Personas .................................................................................. 71 3.1.1 The Heroine of Symbiogenesis ......................................................................... 71 3.1.2 Evolutionary Provocateur ................................................................................ 73 3.1.3 Pseudo-scientist? New Age Populist? .............................................................. 76 3.2 Interlude: Locating Margulis within the Bigger Picture of this Project ................. 82 3.3 The Consciousness Feedback Loop: Bacteria, Brains, and Biosphere .................... 86 3.4 The Homunculus in Medias Res .................................................................................. 89 3.5 The Speculative Chimera ............................................................................................. 96 3.6 Concluding Thoughts ................................................................................................. 104 4.0 Metaphoric Consensus: How “Quorum Sensing” Caught Fire ...................................... 112 4.1 Introduction: How Scientists Came to See Bacteria as Social ................................ 112 4.2 Conceptual Re-genesis: Multicellularity .................................................................. 122 vi 4.3 The Birth of a Term: From Autoinduction to Quorum Sensing ............................ 128 4.4 Quorum Sensing and Burke’s Master Tropes: Metaphor, Metonym, Synecdoche, Irony ................................................................................................................................... 136 4.4.1 Metaphor/Perspective ..................................................................................... 137 4.4.2 Metonymy/Reduction ...................................................................................... 142 4.4.3 Synecdoche/Representation ............................................................................ 148 4.4.4 Irony/Dialectic ................................................................................................. 151 4.5 Concluding Thoughts: Inherent Values of “Mere” Metaphors ............................. 153 5.0 Human Boundary Seepage, Bacterial Rhetorics .............................................................. 157 5.1 Introduction: Microbes and Rhetoric? ..................................................................... 157 5.2 Combinatorial Communication in Bacteria: Non-Symbolic Motion? Symbolic Action? ............................................................................................................................... 160 5.3 Bacterial Communications, Human Bodies ............................................................. 168 5.4 Identification, Suggestibility, and Affective Transmission ..................................... 176 5.5 Concluding Thoughts ................................................................................................. 185 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................. 188 vii List of Figures Figure 2-1 Engelmann's Action Spectrum Experiment. ......................................................... 17 Figure 2-2 Fine Structure and Isolation of the Hook-Basal Body Complex of Flagella from Escherichia coliand Bacillus subtilis (dimensions in nanometers).M. L. DePamphilis, Julius Adler. Journal of Bacteriology, Jan 1, 1971, © American Society for Microbiology.............................................................................................................. 41 Figure 2-3 “The Boss”. Annual Review of Biochemistry, Vol. 80, 2011, Julius Adler. ........ 50 Figure 2-4 E. coli. Elizabeth H. White, M.S. Centers for Disease Control. 1995, Public Domain. ............................................................................................................................ 51 Figure 2-5 “Treponema Pallidum” (syphilis spirochete). Dr. David Cox. CDC, Public domain. ............................................................................................................................. 52 Figure 3-1 Spirochete bacterium, CDC, Susan Lindsley. Public Domain. .......................... 56 Figure 3-2 Endosymbiosis. Joran Martijn, Ettema Lab, Uppsala University ...................... 58 Figure 3-3 Example of a Protoctist. From: Symbiotic Planet: A New Look at Evolution by Lynn Margulis, copyright © 1998, 1999. Reprinted by permission of Basic Books, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, Inc. .......................................................................... 72 Figure 3-4 Cluster of syphilis spirochetes, CDC, David Cox, Public Domain. ..................... 75 Figure 3-5 Cluster of Neurons, Manchester Univerity, 2015. ................................................. 75 Figure 3-6 Difflugia urceolota, with a blunt spine, closed by a grain. Credit: F.J. Siemensma. ..........................................................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • CURRICULUM VITAE George M. Weinstock, Ph.D
    CURRICULUM VITAE George M. Weinstock, Ph.D. DATE September 26, 2014 BIRTHDATE February 6, 1949 CITIZENSHIP USA ADDRESS The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine 10 Discovery Drive Farmington, CT 06032 [email protected] phone: 860-837-2420 PRESENT POSITION Associate Director for Microbial Genomics Professor Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine UNDERGRADUATE 1966-1967 Washington University EDUCATION 1967-1970 University of Michigan 1970 B.S. (with distinction) Biophysics, Univ. Mich. GRADUATE 1970-1977 PHS Predoctoral Trainee, Dept. Biology, EDUCATION Mass. Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 1977 Ph.D., Advisor: David Botstein Thesis title: Genetic and physical studies of bacteriophage P22 genomes containing translocatable drug resistance elements. POSTDOCTORAL 1977-1980 Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biochemistry TRAINING Stanford University Medical School, Stanford, CA. Advisor: Dr. I. Robert Lehman. ACADEMIC POSITIONS/EMPLOYMENT/EXPERIENCE 1980-1981 Staff Scientist, Molec. Gen. Section, NCI-Frederick Cancer Research Facility, Frederick, MD 1981-1983 Staff Scientist, Laboratory of Genetics and Recombinant DNA, NCI-Frederick Cancer Research Facility, Frederick, MD 1981-1984 Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Catonsville, MD 1983-1984 Senior Scientist and Head, DNA Metabolism Section, Lab. Genetics and Recombinant DNA, NCI-Frederick Cancer Research Facility, Frederick, MD 1984-1990 Associate Professor with tenure (1985) Department of Biochemistry
    [Show full text]
  • 2018 March Meeting Program Guide
    MARCHMEETING2018 LOS ANGELES MARCH 5-9 PROGRAM GUIDE #apsmarch aps.org/meetingapp aps.org/meetings/march Senior Editor: Arup Chakraborty Robert T. Haslam Professor of Chemical Engineering; Professor of Chemistry, Physics, and Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, MIT Now welcoming submissions in the Physics of Living Systems Submit your best work at elifesci.org/physics-living-systems Image: D. Bonazzi (CC BY 2.0) Led by Senior Editor Arup Chakraborty, this dedicated new section of the open-access journal eLife welcomes studies in which experimental, theoretical, and computational approaches rooted in the physical sciences are developed and/or applied to provide deep insights into the collective properties and function of multicomponent biological systems and processes. eLife publishes groundbreaking research in the life and biomedical sciences. All decisions are made by working scientists. WELCOME t is a pleasure to welcome you to Los Angeles and to the APS March I Meeting 2018. As has become a tradition, the March Meeting is a spectacular gathering of an enthusiastic group of scientists from diverse organizations and backgrounds who have broad interests in physics. This meeting provides us an opportunity to present exciting new work as well as to learn from others, and to meet up with colleagues and make new friends. While you are here, I encourage you to take every opportunity to experience the amazing science that envelops us at the meeting, and to enjoy the many additional professional and social gatherings offered. Additionally, this is a year for Strategic Planning for APS, when the membership will consider the evolving mission of APS and where we want to go as a society.
    [Show full text]
  • Mutation Rates of Escherichia Coli with Different Balanced Growth Rates: a New Fluctuation Test Protocol and Phenotypic Lag Adju
    Mutation rates of Escherichia coli with different balanced growth rates: a new fluctuation test protocol and phenotypic lag adjustments by Christian Terry Henderson Barna A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Master of Mathematics in Applied Mathematics Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2020 c Christian Terry Henderson Barna 2020 Author's Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii Abstract Bacteria are the oldest, most abundant life form on the planet, and every other organ- ism's livelihood is dependent on them. The bacteria Escherichia coli (E. coli) is commonly used in microbiology as a model organism to give insight into the functions of bacteria and cells in general. Of particular interest in these studies is the methods with which bacteria grow and evolve. Growth is what propagates a bacteria's species; whereas evolution is what allows them to adapt to the ever-changing world. Evolution is made possible by mutations which change a bacterium's DNA. In 1943, Luria and Delbr¨uck developed a method, called a “fluctuation test", to estimate mutation rates from the number of mutants in a collection of parallel cultures exposed to a selecting agent after growth. The original fluctuation test methodology suffers from two major limitations. First, the bacteria are not in a re- producible, balanced state of growth throughout the test.
    [Show full text]
  • Bonnie Bassler
    LEHMAN AND ALLIS TO RECEIVE 2008 ASBMB AWARDS November 2007 Capecchi Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine American Society for Biochemistrye mistry and Molecular Biology Scientists helping scientists… It costs no more to choose the very best for your custom peptides and antibodies… Ac-C T P R Q I pS F N F K-OH All peptides are made in our laboratories 1461.640 with the most rigorous QC in the industry – pSFNFK-H3PO4 -98 623.245 We sequence every purified -H PO peptide we manufacture! 3 4 PhD scientists with over 70 years of 623.0 626.5 combined experience in Chemistry, Mass 293.141 72 Cell Biology and Immunology 1218.599 1169.510 1347.658 536.784 740.405 809.426 1317.591 6 246.072 499.227 972.531 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 Mass Complete antibody protocols and no hidden charges. Phosphospecific antibody experts! Custom peptides up to 100 AAs in length and at purities up to >98%. Peptides for epitope mapping as low as $4/AA. Modifications include phosphorylated amino acids, dye-labeling, cyclic peptides, and peptides with stable isotopes. Experience for yourself why research scientists around the world trust 21st Century Biochemicals for their custom peptides and antibodies! Come speak with our scientists at: Biomedical Research Equipment and Supplies Exhibit at Harvard Medical School Sept. 19 – 20 Society for Neuroscience, San Diego, CA Nov. 3 – 7 American Society for Cell Biology, Washington, DC Dec. 1 – 5 www.21stcenturybio.com 260 Cedar Hill Street, Marlboro, MA 01752 Made in the P: 508.303.8222 Toll-free: 877.217.8238 F: 508.303.8333 E: [email protected] U.S.A.
    [Show full text]
  • Microbiology Immunology Cent
    years This booklet was created by Ashley T. Haase, MD, Regents Professor and Head of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, with invaluable input from current and former faculty, students, and staff. Acknowledgements to Colleen O’Neill, Department Administrator, for editorial and research assistance; the ASM Center for the History of Microbiology and Erik Moore, University Archivist, for historical documents and photos; and Ryan Kueser and the Medical School Office of Communications & Marketing, for design and production assistance. UMN Microbiology & Immunology 2019 Centennial Introduction CELEBRATING A CENTURY OF MICROBIOLOGY & IMMUNOLOGY This brief history captures the last half century from the last history and features foundational ideas and individuals who played prominent roles through their scientific contributions and leadership in microbiology and immunology at the University of Minnesota since the founding of the University in 1851. 1. UMN Microbiology & Immunology 2019 Centennial Microbiology at Minnesota MICROBIOLOGY AT MINNESOTA Microbiology at Minnesota has been From the beginning, faculty have studied distinguished from the beginning by the bacteria, viruses, and fungi relevant to breadth of the microorganisms studied important infectious diseases, from and by the disciplines and sub-disciplines early studies of diphtheria and rabies, represented in the research and teaching of through poliomyelitis, streptococcal and the faculty. The Microbiology Department staphylococcal infection to the present itself, as an integral part of the Medical day, HIV/AIDS and co-morbidities, TB and School since the department’s inception cryptococcal infections, and influenza. in 1918-1919, has been distinguished Beyond medical microbiology, veterinary too by its breadth, serving historically microbiology, microbial physiology, as the organizational center for all industrial microbiology, environmental microbiological teaching and research microbiology and ecology, microbial for the whole University.
    [Show full text]
  • The Era of Microbiology: a Golden Phoenix
    RESEARCH REVIEW INTERNATIONAL MICROBIOLOGY (2006) 9:1–7 www.im.microbios.org Stanley Maloy* The era of microbiology: Moselio Schaechter a Golden Phoenix Center for Microbial Sciences, San Diego State University, San Diego, California, USA Summary. The discoveries over the last decade have demonstrated that micro- biology is a central scientific discipline with practical applications in agriculture, medicine, bioremediation, biotechnology, engineering, and other fields. It is clear that the roles of microbes in nature are so diverse that the process of mining this genetic variation for new applications will continue long into the future. Moreover, the rapid rate of microbial evolution ensures that there will be no permanent solu- tion to agricultural, medical, or environmental problems caused by microbes. These problems will demand a continual stream of creative new approaches that evolve along with the microbes. Thus, the excitement of this field will continue Received 10 January 2006 long into the future. However, these opportunities and imperatives demand a deep Accepted 6 February 2006 understanding of basic microbial physiology, genetics, and ecology. Major chal- *Corresponding author: lenges that lay ahead are to impart the broad training needed to entice and enable S. Maloy the next generation of microbiologists, and to educate the public and government Center for Microbial Sciences representatives about the continued and critical importance of this field for health San Diego State University and the economy. [Int Microbiol 2006; 9(1):1-7] 5500 Campanile Drive San Diego, CA 92182-4614, USA Tel. 1- 619-5947123. Fax 1- 619-5945676 Key words: development of microbiology · microbial ecology · microbial cell Email: [email protected] biology · integrative microbiology the natural environment, and to monitor the physiology of sin- Introduction gle cells under defined conditions.
    [Show full text]
  • Honoring the Fundamental Role of Microbes in the Natural History of Our Planet 30 May 2012
    Honoring the fundamental role of microbes in the natural history of our planet 30 May 2012 Inspired by a 2009 colloquium on microbial personal style. Consequently, this book is not only evolution convened at the Galapagos Islands, a highly informative, but a great deal of fun to read. new book from ASM Press, Microbes and About half of them had something to say about Evolution: The World That Darwin Never Saw Darwin; the other half, what Darwin would have celebrates Charles Darwin and his landmark said about them," says Moselio Schaechter, publication On the Origin of Species. The editors distinguished professor emeritus, Tufts University compiled 40 first-person essays, written by School of Medicine; adjunct professor emeritus, microbiologists with a passion for evolutionary Department of Biology, San Diego State University; biology, to illuminate how each scientist's thinking and, visiting scholar, University of California at San and career paths in science were influenced by Diego. Darwin's seminal work. Richard Losick, Maria Moors Cabot Professor, at Intended for a general audience, Microbes and Harvard University, describes Microbes and Evolution explores how the evidence of microbial Evolution as "A breathtaking range of topics are evolution deeply and personally affected each woven together under a common theme that takes scientist. Readers can expect to be surprised and the reader from the origin of microbial life to its delighted with these intimate viewpoints on the diversity, from mutualism and competition to efforts importance of evolutionary principles in the study to recapitulate evolution, from the diversity of of a variety of aspects of life science, from bacterial viruses to 'the smallest and most taxonomy, speciation, adaptation, social structure, abundant microorganism in the ocean.'" and symbiosis to antibiotic resistance, genetics, and genomics.
    [Show full text]
  • Transcript (PDF)
    Exploring Biodiversity: The Search for New Medicines Lecture 2 – Shedding Light on an Invisible World Bonnie L. Bassler, Ph.D. 1. Start of Lecture 2 (0:19) [ANNOUNCER:] From the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The 2009 Holiday Lectures on Science. This year's lectures, "Exploring Biodiversity: The Search for New Medicines," will be given by Dr. Bonnie Bassler, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator at Princeton University, and Dr. Baldomero Olivera, Howard Hughes Medical Institute professor at the University of Utah. The second lecture is titled, "Shedding Light on an Invisible World." And now, to introduce our program, the Vice President for Grants and Special Programs of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Dr. Peter Bruns. 2. Welcome by HHMI Vice President Dr. Peter Bruns (1:08) [DR. BRUNS:] Thanks for joining us for the Holiday Lectures on Science this year, focusing on biodiversity and the search for new medicines. You know, we've already had one lecture full of all sorts of great stuff and we've got three more to go, but even then we won't be able to cover everything for sure. We have a way that you can get more information on this and other related topics, and that's on a website that we have. If you go to our own website, HHMI.org, and then on the bottom right, click on an area called Cool Science, you'll come to a page that has a number of options. In one spot you'll find BioInteractive. Click on that and you'll find a whole library of previous Holiday Lectures and, in fact, this Holiday Lecture, in the future, and other kinds of videos and animations and so on.
    [Show full text]
  • Årsberättelse 2017
    RYGG 8,5 MM KUNGL. VETENSKAPSAKADEMIEN BOX 50005 (LILLA FRESCATIVÄGEN 4 A), SE-104 05 STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN VETENSKAPSAKADEMIEN KUNGL. TEL +46 8 673 95 00, [email protected], WWW.KVA.SE KUNGL. VETENSKAPSAKADEMIEN, stiftad år 1739, är en oberoende organisation som har till uppgift att främja vetenskaperna och stärka deras inflytande i samhället. Akademien tar särskilt ansvar för naturvetenskap och matematik, men strävar efter att öka utbytet mellan olika discipliner. THE ROYAL SWEDISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES, founded in 1739, is an independent organisation whose overall objective is to promote the sciences and strengthen their influence in society. The Academy takes special responsibility for the natural sciences and mathematics, but endeavours to promote the exchange of ideas between various disciplines. ÅRSBERÄTTELSE 2017 é ÅRSBERÄTTELSE 2017 The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences’ annual report, including a presentation in English of the Academy’s activities in 2017 by the Secretary General, Göran K. Hansson. DOCUMENTA NO 91 KUNGL. VETENSKAPSAKADEMIEN © 2018 REDAKTION: Annika Olofsdotter och Sara Gustafsson TEXTER: Gravitationsvågorna äntligen fångade: Joanna Rose Cool mikroskopiteknik revolutionerar biokemin: Ann Fernholm Att integrera ekonomi med psykologi: Per Molander* GRAFISK FORM OCH PRODUKTION: Christina Ajax, Fräulein Design TRYCK: Åtta45, Järfälla 2018 ISSN: 0347-5719 ISBN: 978-91-7190-194-1 OMSLAGSBILD: Ständige sekreteraren Göran K. Hansson och Vetenskap & Allmänhets generalsekreterare Cissi Askwall på Vetenskapsakademiens och Vetenskap & Allmänhets dialogseminarium Vetenskap och fakta i politiken under Almedalsveckan 2017 (Foto: KVA), Preses Christina Moberg talar under March for Science i Stockholm den 22 april (Foto: Erik Cronberg, Vetenskap & Allmänhet), March for Science på Medborgarplatsen i Stockholm (Foto: Erik Cronberg, Vetenskap & Allmänhet).
    [Show full text]
  • Celebrate Princeton Invention 2017
    CELEBRATE PRINCETON INVENTION 2017 850016-cpi-booklet September 8, 2017 9:44 AM Office of the Dean for Research Celebrating the journey from research to impact 91 Prospect Ave. Princeton, NJ 08540 609-258-5500 rinceton University is a place where deep thinkers and visionaries [email protected] have the latitude to push basic discoveries into new realms. At research.princeton.edu this year’s Celebrate Princeton Invention, we honor both those researchers who start with a problem and look for a solution, To learn more about the researchers and Pand those who make fundamental technologies in this brochure, contact: discoveries that they then apply John Ritter in new areas. Director, Technology Licensing An example of this latter type 87 Prospect Ave., 3rd Floor of inventor is Herschel Rabitz, Princeton, NJ 08544 the Charles Phelps Smyth ’16 *17 609-258-1001 [email protected] Professor of Chemistry. His www.princeton.edu/patents work on optimization theory has led to new ways to develop For information on fostering industry- and formulate new medicines. faculty collaborations, contact: Another example is Jeroen Tromp, Coleen Burrus the Blair Professor of Geology Director, Corporate Engagement and and a professor of geosciences Foundation Relations and applied and computational 91 Prospect Ave. mathematics. Tromp has adopted Princeton, NJ 08540 methods he created for studying the 609-258-3277 Earth’s interior to the problem of [email protected] improving medical imaging. cefr.princeton.edu These pioneering projects complement the many avenues of invention featured this year, ones that For inquiries regarding sponsored research, contact: are making buildings more energy efficient, ramping up the production of biofuels, bringing molecular diagnosis to remote locations with a new Jeff Friedland “lab on a chip,” and helping to find the genes that contribute to autism.
    [Show full text]
  • Bonnie Bassler How Bacteria Talk to Each Other Acteria Communicate with One Another Using Small Chemical Molecules That They Release Into the Environment
    K A V L I I N S T I T U T E F O R T H E O R E T I C A L P H Y S I C S Presents The Forty-Fifth KITP Public Lecture Sponsored by Friends of KITP Bonnie Bassler How Bacteria Talk to Each Other acteria communicate with one another using small chemical molecules that they release into the environment. These molecules travel from cell to cell and the bacteria have receptorsB on their surfaces that allow them to detect and respond to the build up of the molecules. This process of cell-to-cell communication in bacteria is called “Quorum Sensing” and it allows bacteria to synchronize behavior on a population-wide scale. Bacterial behaviors controlled by quorum sensing are usually ones that are unproductive when undertaken by an individual Admission is Free bacterium acting alone but become effective when undertaken in unison by the group. For example, quorum sensing controls virulence, sporulation, and Seating is by RSVP only the exchange of DNA. Thus, quorum sensing is a mechanism that allows at: bacteria to function as multi-cellular organisms. Cell-to-cell communication http://www.kitp.ucsb.edu/ in bacteria was likely one of the first steps in the evolution of higher public-lecture-rsvp organisms. Current biomedical research is focused on the development of or call novel anti-bacterial therapies aimed at interfering with quorum sensing. Such therapies could be used to control bacterial pathogenicity. (805) 893-6349 by Jan. 14, 2011 About the Speaker Reserved seats are held BONNIE BASSLER is a member of the National Academy of Sciences until 7:50 PM and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
    [Show full text]
  • 01 Schaechter.Qxp
    EDITORIAL INTERNATIONAL MICROBIOLOGY (2007) 10:153-156 DOI: 10.2436/20.1501.01.22 ISSN: 1139-6709 www.im.microbios.org The road from The Microbial world to Microbe Moselio Schaechter,1 John L. Ingraham,2 Frederick C. Neidhardt3 1San Diego State University and University of California-San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA. 2University of California-Davis, Davis, CA, USA. 3University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA The year 2007 commemorates the 50th anniversary of the genetics, immunology, and infectious diseases. Stanier publication of The Microbial World, the seminal microbiolo- would do all the rest and, of course, he would lead, direct, gy textbook that shattered the microbiology world and whose oversee, synthesize, orchestrate, and criticize. Ricardo first edition was coauthored by Roger Y. Stanier, Michael Guerrero, current SEM president and young postdoctoral fel- Doudoroff and Edward A. Adelberg. The year 2007 marks low in Ingraham laboratory in the years 1972-1973, was pay- also twenty-five years of Stanier’s passing away. The ing him a visit during the summer of 1974 and surely recalls Spanish Society for Microbiology (SEM) with the support of Ingraham’s excitement after receiving Stanier’s letter. Fundación Ramón Areces The three authors of has organized a Sympo- the coming edition met sium, in the frame of the the next summer at 21st national congress of Ingraham’s house in the SEM (Seville, 17-20 Davis at Stanier’s insis- September 2007), to com- tence to put the book memorate those anniver- together. Stanier was saries, and has invited us committed to presenta- (Schaechter, Ingraham and tion almost as deeply as Neidhardt) to contribute he was to science.
    [Show full text]