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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Feb 7, 2026

Biology of Microbial Communities - Interview

Biology of Microbial Communities - Interview

Published on: May 28, 2007

Signal Percolation within a Bacterial Community.

Joseph W Larkin¹, Xiaoling Zhai², Kaito Kikuchi¹

¹Division of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, Pacific Hall Room 2225B, Mail Code 0347, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.

|July 30, 2018

Summary

Bacterial communities use electrochemical signals for coordination. This study reveals that optimal signal transmission occurs near a critical phase transition, balancing individual cell costs with community benefits.

Keywords:

biofilms criticality percolation self-organization signal transmission

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Efficient Nucleic Acid Extraction and 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing for Bacterial Community Characterization

Efficient Nucleic Acid Extraction and 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing for Bacterial Community Characterization

Published on: April 14, 2016

Area of Science:

Microbiology
Systems Biology
Statistical Physics

Background:

Cell-to-cell communication is crucial for coordinating biological systems over distances.
Quantitative data on signal propagation in heterogeneous cellular environments is limited, hindering theoretical development.
Electrochemical signaling in bacterial communities presents a model for studying these phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between spatial organization and signal propagation in bacterial communities.
To develop and validate a theoretical model predicting optimal conditions for signal transmission.
To understand the trade-offs between single-cell costs and population-level benefits in signaling.

Main Methods:

Developed a percolation theory model to describe signal propagation in heterogeneous media.
Predicted that signal transmission is optimized near a critical phase transition.
Measured population-level signal transmission with single-cell resolution in wild-type and genetically modified bacterial communities.

Main Results:

Experimental data confirmed that bacterial communities organize spatially near the predicted critical phase transition.
Signal transmission becomes efficient at this critical point, where a connected conduit of signaling cells forms.
The population-level advantage of signaling outweighs the cost to individual cells at this transition.

Conclusions:

Bacterial communities exhibit spatial organization at a critical phase transition to optimize electrochemical signal transmission.
This organization balances individual costs with collective benefits, promoting efficient long-range coordination.
The findings support theoretical predictions of spatial heterogeneity promoting efficient signaling in biological systems.