Phenotypic memory in quorum sensing.

Quorum sensing (QS) is a regulatory mechanism used by bacteria to coordinate group behavior in response to high cell densities. During QS, cells monitor the concentration of external signals, known as autoinducers, as a proxy for cell density. QS often involves positive feedback loops, leading to the upregulation of genes associated with QS signal production and detection.

Red-Light-Induced Genetic System for Control of Extracellular Electron Transfer.

Optogenetics is a powerful tool for spatiotemporal control of gene expression. Several light-inducible gene regulators have been developed to function in bacteria, and these regulatory circuits have been ported to new host strains. Here, we developed and adapted a red-light-inducible transcription factor for .

Computation in bacterial communities.

Bacteria across many scales are involved in a dynamic process of information exchange to coordinate activity and community structure within large and diverse populations. The molecular components bacteria use to communicate have been discovered and characterized, and recent efforts have begun to understand the potential for bacterial signal exchange to gather information from the environment and coordinate collective behaviors. Such computations made by bacteria to coordinate the action of a population of cells in response to information gathered by a multitude of inputs is a form of collective intelligence.