Bacteria Are More Capable of Complex Decision-Making Than Thought
It’s not thinking in the way humans, dogs or even birds think, but new findings from researchers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, show that bacteria are more capable of complex decision-making than previously known.
The discovery sets a landmark in research to understand the way bacteria are able to respond and adapt to changes in their environment, a trait shared by nearly all living things, and it could lead to innovations in fields from medicine to agriculture.
In the long-term, the researchers think that scientists will be able to take the findings, published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and use them to tailor medicines in new ways to fight harmful bacteria or to find enhanced ways to use bacteria in agricultural or other applications.
Biology typically looks at the common bacteria Escherichia coli as the model for bacteria’s ability to move actively and independently, but Gladys Alexandre, an associate professor of biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology at UT Knoxville, decided to look at the more complex soil bacterium,Azospirillum brasilense.
“As bacteria’s ability to make decisions goes, E. coli is kind of dumb, which makes it easy for researchers to study sensing and information processing — essentially, decision making — in this bacterium,” says Alexandre.
It helps to understand the way that bacteria “think.” Their cells contain a number of receptors, and each one affects a certain behavior or trait in the bacteria, for example where to move, how to function, even whether to become virulent. The advent of genetic sequencing means we know more about how many receptors bacteria have, and the more receptors, the more ways a bacterium has to sense its surroundings.
E. coli has only five receptors that direct its decision-making process about movement, while Azospirillum brasilense has 48, making it comparatively much “smarter” in its ability to detect changes in its environments and as a result, to make complex decisions regarding where to move.
What scientists have not known and have been unable to study until now is how the individual receptors, by sensing their environment, directly affect the bacteria’s behavior and ability to adapt to their environment. Alexandre’s study is one of the first to isolate and study a receptor in this way.
She and her colleagues focused on a receptor they suspected was related to the way bacteria convert nitrogen gas from the atmosphere into a form — ammonium — that can be used by all organisms. This ability is called nitrogen fixation and while it is uniquely found in bacteria, it is critically important to all living organisms, as it is the only way nitrogen can eventually be incorporated into building blocks of cells.
The process is carried out by an enzyme which is damaged in the presence of high concentrations of oxygen, which presents a dilemma for the bacterium, as the energy needed for the process is usually acquired in the presence of oxygen.
When Alexandre and her team created mutant versions of the bacteria without the receptor, the mutant bacteria were unable to detect where the right position in oxygen concentration was, affecting the nitrogen fixation reaction. In other words, the mutant bacteria were somewhat “blind” and could not detect the right position, showing them their hunch was correct about the receptor’s purpose. But their curiosity expanded: if they were able to uncover the receptor’s purpose, would they be able to out exactly how it functioned?
For that, they enlisted the help of UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory distinguished scientist Igor Jouline, an expert in carrying out complex computations of biological systems, such as the one governing the receptor at the heart of Alexandre’s research. Working with Alexandre’s data, Jouline was able to generate a model of the receptor’s structure and compare it to other structures on a nearly atom-by-atom basis.
This enabled them to predict which one of the more than 100 amino acids in the sensory part of the receptor is responsible for sensing the precise oxygen concentration that this bacterium needs for nitrogen fixation. It’s a process that, using normal genetic techniques, would have taken a substantial commitment of hours and resources, but was made simpler and less labor-intensive by using computing.
Alexandre hopes that other scientists and researchers can use a similar technique to look at receptor sites on other bacteria of interest. She noted that the ability to work with Jouline and with the resources available through UT Knoxville’s partnership with ORNL was key to her discovery.
“Partnering with Igor provided us great insight,” said Alexandre. “We would not have been able to fully understand how this receptor works without him.”
Alexandre says there’s good long-term potential for the knowledge gained in the study.
“We see now that bacteria are, in their way, big thinkers, and by knowing how they ‘feel’ about the environment around them, we can look at new and different ways to work with them.”
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Bacteria has been newly found to make more complicated decisions than even humans. Mutant bacteria were somewhat blind and could not detect the right position. Bacteria’s cells contain a multiple number of receptors. E. coli directs its decision-making process about movement. Some bacteria are smarter than animals.
1.bacteria can make better decisions than ever before
2.cells contain a number of receptors
3.mutant bacteria is blind
4.bacteria can adapt to changes in environment
5.Scientists created mutant versions of the bacteria without the receptor
1. Bacteria are more capable of complex decision.
2. Bacteria cells contain a number of recepters.
3. Mutant bacteria is blind and can not detect the right postion.
4. It adapts to it’s environment.
5. The process is carried by enzyme which is damage of oxygen.
1. Bacteria can sense there surroundings and therefore adapt through receptors.
2. E. coli has 5 receptors and Azospirillum brasilense, another bacteria, has 48.
3. Bacteria converts nitrogen into ammonium which starts the building blocks of all cells. (nitrogen fixation)
4. The receptors also since the oxygen concentration that is just right for nitrogen fixation.
5.Scientists believe that if they can figure out the key purpose of the receptors than they can mold the receptors to make the bacteria work with us not against us.
1) Researchers at the University of Tennessee have discovered that bacteria is more capable of complex decision but not the way we do.
2) Bacteria cells contain receptors, and each one can change things like how to move.
3) Mutant bacteria is some what blind.
4) All bacteria are able to respond and adapt to changes in their environment, a trait shared by nearly all living things.
5) E Coli has five receptors that direct its desion making process about movement.
1.University of Knoxville, show that bacteria are more capable of complex decision-making than previously known.
2. Bacteria cells contain receptors.
3. Mutant bacteria are blind and can’t detect the right postion.
4.Bacteria adapts to its enviroment.
5.Scientist are looking for a new and better way to work with bacteria.
1. Bacteria are capable of decision-making.
2. Bacteria can respond and adapt to its environment.
3. Bacteria’s cells contain a number of receptors.
4. Alexandre wants other scientists to use a similar technique receptor sites.
5. Alexandre and her team created mutant versions without receptors.
1. Bacteria are more capable of complex decision making than previously known.
2. Scientist from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville,TN discovered this.
3. The discovery sets a land mark in reasearch.
4. Now scientist understand the way bacteria are able to respond & react to their enviroment.
5. Being able to adapt in the enviroment is a trait that all living things have.
6. Scientist think this will help researchers in the long rum.
7. The findings are published in Procedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
bacteria are more capable of complex decision.
Bacteria cells contain a number of receptors.
E. coli has only five receptors that direct its decision making process about movement.
mutant bacteria is blind and can not detect the right position.
Alexandre says there’s good long-term potential for the knowledge gained in the study.
- Bacteria are more capable of complex decision making than thought.
- Their research is to learn about how bacteria acts in change in their environment
- They think they might be later able to use the information to help attack harmful bacteria
- There is good long term potential in the knowleedge for bacteria testing
- Scientists have not known how the bacterias receptors effect the bacterias changes
BActeria are cable of making complex decsions. All are able to adapt and change in thier enviroment. This trait is nearly shared with every living things. The bacteria cells contain many receptors. Mutant bacteria is blind and cannot detect the right position.