Bacteria don’t make words. So how do they talk with each other?

They make small molecule signals, of varying shapes and sizes, that allow them to communicate with one another and respond to environmental changes. There are many signals that have been well studied, many that remain elusive, and even more that are yet to be discovered.

I’m looking at a particular signal that’s produced by bacteria, it’s formed from mRNA degradation. It’s not been extensively studied before, so we are looking into how the levels of this signal change at different points in bacterial growth as well as how production of this signal changes different bacterial traits.

I’m hoping that I can add pieces to the puzzle so that way one day scientists can have a better understanding of cellular signaling and ways to manipulate bacteria so they aren’t so drug resistant.