| Title: | Bacterial linguistic communication and social intelligence |
| Author(s): | Ben Jacob E; Becker I; Shapira Y; Levine H; |
| Address: | "School of Physics and Astronomy, The Raymond and Beverly Sackler Faculty of Exact Sciences, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel. eshel@tamar.ac.il" |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.tim.2004.06.006 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 0966-842X (Print) 0966-842X (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Bacteria have developed intricate communication capabilities (e.g. quorum-sensing, chemotactic signaling and plasmid exchange) to cooperatively self-organize into highly structured colonies with elevated environmental adaptability. We propose that bacteria use their intracellular flexibility, involving signal transduction networks and genomic plasticity, to collectively maintain linguistic communication: self and shared interpretations of chemical cues, exchange of chemical messages (semantic) and dialogues (pragmatic). Meaning-based communication permits colonial identity, intentional behavior (e.g. pheromone-based courtship for mating), purposeful alteration of colony structure (e.g. formation of fruiting bodies), decision-making (e.g. to sporulate) and the recognition and identification of other colonies - features we might begin to associate with a bacterial social intelligence. Such a social intelligence, should it exist, would require going beyond communication to encompass unknown additional intracellular processes to generate inheritable colonial memory and commonly shared genomic context" |
| Keywords: | "Adaptation, Physiological/physiology Bacteria/cytology/*genetics/metabolism Bacterial Physiological Phenomena Chemotaxis/physiology Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial/physiology Morphogenesis Signal Transduction/*physiology;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineBen Jacob, Eshel Becker, Israela Shapira, Yoash Levine, Herbert eng England 2004/07/28 Trends Microbiol. 2004 Aug; 12(8):366-72. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2004.06.006" |
