A Review on Bacterial Communities and Communication

Bacteria, one of the smallest organisms to inhabit the Earth, have some of the largest ecological impacts on their communities. They interact with plants, animals, and other bacteria. Bacteria can be printed using 3D printing methods that recombine different traits of different bacteria. Connell and his research team printed Staphylococcus aureus with a Psuedomonas aeruginosa shell, increasing its resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics. Psuedomonas aeruginosa is found in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients and loses its social abilities over time (Jiricny et al. 2014). They lose ability of receptor lasR in quorum sensing pathways, but biofilm formation is not affected. Recombination could cause such a mutation and increase strain resistance to antibiotics. Some marine bacteria, associated with sponges, have been found to inhibit quorum sensing in Vibrio strain bacteria, which down-regulates their virulence (Durai et al. 2013). Biofilm formation in bacterial colonies can be mediated using small molecules that break the cell envelope or matrix, promote cell death, or alter signaling pathways between bacteria (Oppenheimer-Shaanan et al. 2013). The quorum sensing ability of Psuedomonas aeruginosa is inhibited by the sub-MICs (antibacterial component) in clove oil by down-regulating virulence factors, such as concentration protease, swimming 2 motility, LasB production, and quorum sensing molecules (Husain et al. 2013). Treating preinfected Caenorhabditis elegans with clove oil increased their survival, confirming the antibacterial effect of clove oil. Other essential oils can be synthesized into essential oil sophorolipids (glycolipids). The hydrophobic polar nature of theses sophorolipids inhibits quorum sensing molecules and biofilm formation (Mukherji et al. 2013). As a simple essential oil it does not have these traits, but when transformed into sophorolipids they show antibacterial properties. By understanding bacterial interactions and how they are influenced, we can manipulate their communication to benefit human health and maintain a balance in the ecosystem they thrive in.