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Bacterial signaling can occur within bacteria (intracellular) or between bacteria (intercellular). At times, a group of bacteria behaves like a community. To achieve this, they engage in quorum sensing, the perception of higher cell density that causes changes in gene expression. Quorum sensing involves both extracellular and intracellular signaling. The signaling cascade starts with a molecule called an autoinducer (AI). Individual bacteria produce AIs that move out of the bacterial cell...
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Updated: Sep 11, 2025

Monitoring Spatial Segregation in Surface Colonizing Microbial Populations
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Environment-mediated interactions cause an externalized and collective memory in bacteria.

Shubham Gajrani1, Xiaozhou Ye1, Christoph Ratzke1

  • 1Interfaculty Institute for Microbiology and Infection Medicine Tübingen (IMIT), Cluster of Excellence EXC 2124 "Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections" (CMFI), University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 7/1, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.

The ISME Journal
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Summary

Bacterial communities exhibit emergent memory stored in the environment, not cells. This collective memory influences future interactions and community assembly, highlighting the importance of historical context.

Keywords:
collective memorycommunity assemblycomplex systemsexternalized memorymicrobial communitiesmicrobial interactionsmultistabilityniche construction

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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Ecology
  • Systems Biology

Background:

  • Bacteria inhabit complex communities, with interactions shaping community structure and function.
  • Bacterial interactions often involve environmental modifications (e.g., nutrient uptake, toxin production) that can persist.
  • Understanding these persistent environmental changes is crucial for predicting microbial community dynamics.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate if persistent environmental changes caused by bacterial activity can create a 'memory effect' influencing future interactions.
  • To determine the nature of this memory (cellular vs. environmental) and its dependence on bacterial population dynamics.
  • To assess the impact of this environmental memory on the assembly of more complex microbial communities.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental manipulation of bacterial growth conditions and environments.
  • Monitoring of bacterial population dynamics and chemical environmental parameters.
  • Analysis of interaction outcomes under different historical environmental conditions.

Main Results:

  • Demonstrated that lasting environmental changes induced by bacterial populations create a memory effect.
  • Showed this memory is stored externally in the environment, not within individual bacterial cells.
  • Confirmed that this emergent, collective memory influences future microbial interactions and community composition.

Conclusions:

  • Bacterial communities possess an emergent, environmentally-stored memory that impacts future interactions.
  • This 'externalized memory' is a collective property of bacterial populations, not individual cells.
  • System history, mediated by environmental memory, is a critical factor in understanding microbial community assembly and function.