Crowd Control

Our intestines are host to hundreds of different microbes and, while some are beneficial to our health, others can contribute to diseases like diabetes and cancer. Researchers are testing a new way to tip the balance in our guts towards ‘healthy bacteria’ by changing the way microbes communicate. In this bacterial colony from a mouse intestine, Escherichia coli (E. Coli) bacteria – artificially-coloured blue and yellow – have been genetically engineered to either produce a chemical called AI-2, or to remove it from their environment. Bacteria that produce AI-2 also ‘sense’ it from their neighbours, allowing them to change their behaviour to the whim of the crowd. Manipulating levels of AI-2, researchers hope to alter this microbial mob mentality, known as Quorum sensing, and ultimately to control the growth of different bacterial populations inside the human digestive system.

Written by John Ankers

John Ankers

Writer

A former researcher in systems biology, John is now an online biology tutor and professional coach supporting the wellbeing of scientists and NHS professionals. He's writing, too, of course.

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• Image by Ozhan Ozkaya
• Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Portugal
• Image copyright held by the photographer
• Research published in Cell Reports, March 2015