How Bacteria Talk

How Bacteria Talk

Quorum sensing will no doubt create antibiotics for the future. Quorum sensing involves regulating the bacterial genetic expression as a response to the fluctuation in the population of the cells. A quorum-sensing bacterium can produce and release autoinducers whose concentration increases due to an increase in cellular proportions (Miller & Bassler, 2009). The minimum detection of inducers leads to alteration in the genetic activities in the cells, thus interfering with the communication mechanism within the bacteria, reducing the virulence of the bacteria. The earlier antibiotics were meant to kill bacteria, thus eradicating such an important body component. Quorum sensing mainly intends to inhibit the communication mechanism among the bacteria and inhibit the multiplication and manifestation as all these components massively depend on communication.

The video gave me a new appreciation and an understanding that the manifestation of pathologic symptoms is not merely toxins produced by bacteria but a result of the combined action of bacteria. Bacteria carry out hundreds of behaviors within their bodies collectively, but the one that is more common among humans is virulence. Bacteria do not get into humans and start secreting toxins; they enter the body and wait and start growing and count themselves to confirm If they have a sustainable number to favor their combined activity, and their combined activity weakens the immunity of the enormous organism (Bassler, 2009). I was surprised to understand that bacteria have a special mode of communication, a characteristic that makes It easier for the different groups of bacteria to perform their roles collectively.

An area in medicine where taking a new approach has had a serious impact is the field of oncology. At earlier ages, chemotherapy sessions could only manage cervical cancer. However, after discovering the immortal Hela cells, management of cervical cancer has been easier as the immortal cells can be transplanted into infected humans to prevent the death of cervical cells mainly caused by the malignancy of the cervical cancer cells (Khan, 2017). The discovery meant that no more body-infected body cells could be killed in the chemotherapy sessions. The discovery has seen a reduction in cervical cancer mortality by more than 20% within the last decade. 

References

Bassler, B. (2009). How bacteria “talk.” Www.ted.com. https://www.ted.com/talks/bonnie_bassler_how_bacteria_talk

Khan, F. A. (2017). The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Journal of the Islamic Medical Association of North America, 43(2). https://doi.org/10.5915/43-2-8609

Miller, M. B., & Bassler, B. L. (2009). Quorum sensing in bacteria. Annual Review of Microbiology, 55(1), 165–199. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.micro.55.1.165