Biocommunication in Soil Microorganisms

Abstract

Bacteria (prokaryotes) communicate and therefore are able to organize and coordinate their behavior similar to a multicellular organism (Losick and Kaiser 1997; Kaiser and Losick 1993; Ben Jacob and Levine 2006; Bassler and Losick 2006). But what does communication mean? In contrast to older concepts which summarize communication processes as information exchange only, nowadays communication processes are investigated as sign-mediated interactions, i.e., the informational content which is transported with signs triggers all kinds of different behavior. Also such different processes as production, release, uptake, and interpretation of signal molecules represent behavioral patterns. Signs are, in most cases, chemical molecules, in some cases also tactile interactions, which serve as signals both within and between prokaryotic organisms.