Support science to put bacteria to silence.

Bacteria communicate with each other. The fact that bacteria communicate somehow has been known for quite some time, but we didn't know much about how. American microbiologists Bonnie L. Bassler and Michael R. Silverman found out more about 'talking' bacteria in the course of their research, receiving the Paul-Ehrlich- and Ludwig-Darmstaedter-prize for outstanding achievements in medicine.

Bacteria communicate to execute plans with the help of their "community"

Their study results conclude that we might be able to get rid of antibiotics once and for all – since there might be no need to kill bacteria anymore when all we have to do is disturb their communication. Bacteria communicate to agree upon processes whose execution wouldn't make sense for singular cells – arranging a meeting within a group to execute a certain process, such as attacking a host.

By quorum sensing bacteria can determine how many of their kind are close to them

Bacteria determine how many conspecifics are close to them by exchanging signals, a phenomenon called "quorum sensing" – a chemical based communication between unicellular organisms via signal molecules. This was discovered by scientists in 1970 when examining the bioluminescence of a bacterium called 'Vibrio fischeri'.

At low concentrations, bacteria might be unharmful to their host. When the concentration increases, they switch their manner and attack – recognising via quorum sensing when the optimum concentration and thus the perfect time to attack has been reached.

Antibiotics? No problem for hospital bugs

With the help of quorum sensing, bacteria can cause gene expression such as the production of toxins and virulence factors. The hospital bug 'pseudomonas aeruginosa', for instance, produces a biofilm that protects the bacteria from the immune system of their host and from antibiotics.

Let's support science – to put bacteria to silence

There are several kinds of autoinducers used for intraspecific and interspecific communication – meaning even different bacteria species can communicate with each other. As we know more about how bacteria communicate, we can learn how to disturb their communication and render bacteria harmless – potentially solving the problem of antibiotic resistance.