Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 28, 2026

Using Coculture to Detect Chemically Mediated Interspecies Interactions
Published on: October 31, 2013
Biological and chemical strategies for exploring inter- and intra-kingdom communication mediated via bacterial
Mohamed A Farag1, Geun Cheol Song2, Yong-Soon Park2
1Pharmacognosy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
Abstract:
Airborne chemical signals emitted by bacteria influence the behavior of other bacteria and plants. We present an overview of in vitro methods for evaluating bacterial and plant responses to bacterial volatile compounds (BVCs). Three types of equipment have been used to physically separate the bacterial test strains from either other bacterial strains or plants (in our laboratory we use either Arabidopsis or tobacco plant seedlings): a Petri dish containing two compartments (BI Petri dish); two Petri dishes connected with tubing; and a microtiter-based assay. The optimized procedure for the BI Petri dish system is described in this protocol and can be widely used for elucidation of potential function in interactions between diverse microbes and those plant and chemical volatiles emitted by bacteria that are most likely to mediate bacterial or plant responses to BVCs. We also describe a procedure for metabolome-based BVC profiling via dynamic (i.e., continuous airflow) or static headspace sampling using solid-phase microextraction (SPME). Using both these procedures, bacteria-bacteria communications and bacteria-plant interactions mediated by BVCs can be rapidly investigated (within 1-4 weeks).
Related Concept Videos
Bacterial Signaling
Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing
Types of Signaling Molecules
Chemotaxis in E. coli
Communication
Biological Methods for Microbial Control

