Quorum sensing; more research (Introduction)

by David Turell , Thursday, April 09, 2015, 02:15 (3517 days ago) @ dhw

dhw: As I see it, this article (and the clause you have emphasized) explains how bacteria use their own languages to communicate in order to decide the best way to use the information. The molecular activity is known, but how it is directed is not known. “Bacteria use quorum sensing to control...” does not mean “Bacteria are controlled by...” -I understand that. The obvious answer is the instructions in their DNA guides them into how to handle each stimulus. -> dhw: QUOTE: “Each species of bacteria has its own unique language, the authors say. In addition, there are "universal signals, analogous to Morse code, used for communication between different species of bacteria," says Griffith. "In microbial communities, bacteria within a similar group communicate with one another, while other groups are eavesdropping or even disrupting the others' communication. It is biological espionage. Bacteria that can communicate with one another and work together as a group will be more successful in competing for resources than individuals.”-All perfectly true.
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> dhw: Decisions are clearly being made all the time, and what the researchers have discovered is how bacteria communicate, not how they take those decisions.-Simple: a bacteria receives a signal molecule, A, and a stimulus strength, B. A & B elicit a response of either D, E, or F depending upon the quality of A & B. My kidney cells do this all the time to decide how much sodium to remove from my blood. The single celled bacteria is no different. And my kidney cells cooperate all the time, just as your favorite cooperating bacteria do. Your kidney cells are just like mine. Aren't you thankful they are automatic, so you don't have to think about them?-Same old issue: bacteria can look like they are decision-making by simply following the on-board rules. They have to eat and poop just like we do, and they don't think about it any more than we do.