Warning: file_get_contents(https://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=26503040
&cmd=llinks): Failed to open stream: HTTP request failed! HTTP/1.1 429 Too Many Requests
in C:\Inetpub\vhosts\kidney.de\httpdocs\pget.php on line 215
Ion channels enable electrical communication in bacterial communities
#MMPMID26503040
Prindle A
; Liu J
; Asally M
; Ly S
; Garcia-Ojalvo J
; Süel GM
Nature
2015[Nov]; 527
(7576
): 59-63
PMID26503040
show ga
The study of bacterial ion channels has provided fundamental insights into the
structural basis of neuronal signalling; however, the native role of ion channels
in bacteria has remained elusive. Here we show that ion channels conduct
long-range electrical signals within bacterial biofilm communities through
spatially propagating waves of potassium. These waves result from a positive
feedback loop, in which a metabolic trigger induces release of intracellular
potassium, which in turn depolarizes neighbouring cells. Propagating through the
biofilm, this wave of depolarization coordinates metabolic states among cells in
the interior and periphery of the biofilm. Deletion of the potassium channel
abolishes this response. As predicted by a mathematical model, we further show
that spatial propagation can be hindered by specific genetic perturbations to
potassium channel gating. Together, these results demonstrate a function for ion
channels in bacterial biofilms, and provide a prokaryotic paradigm for active,
long-range electrical signalling in cellular communities.
free
free
free
