Tiny Creatures That Do Big Things!
- ra11876
- Feb 28
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 5
It's Everywhere!
Bacteria are found everywhere around us on Earth from the depths of the ocean to us. They are very diverse organisms that have been studied for years. Where they live is not the only thing that makes bacteria so diverse but also how they live and what they do. Bacteria can come in all forms, shapes and sizes and can perform a wide variety of functions from breaking down organic matter to producing essential nutrients for plants and us! Bacteria can be found in the most extreme environments like boiling hot springs and others in icy conditions or even inside other living organisms. To add to their list of things that they do, bacteria can also adapt quickly to changes in their environment because they have the ability to exchange genetic material. Their ability to do these many things play a vital role in everything from our health to the environment and even the health industry.
It Glows?
Bacteria can glow and help some aquatic species survive. Aliivibrio fischeri (A. fischeri) was formally known as Vibrio fischeri is a gram-negative rod-shaped bacterium with a yellow pigment that is found in marine environments. Aliivibrio fischeri is a non-pathogenic species and has bioluminescent properties. It is most effectively grown in waters with a high salt content and temperatures between 24 and 28℃. A. fischeri produces light through a biochemical reaction that involves an enzyme known as luciferase and has become a model organism for studying light production in microbes. There has been no evidence that Aliivibrio fischeri causes disease in humans or other organisms but it is found to contain homologs of toxin genes that are found in Vibrio species.
The Glowing Squid
The Hawaiian bobtail squid is a host to Aliivibrio fischeri and uses its bioluminescence to attract prey, stray away predators and communicate with other squid. Squid have special mucus that attracts Aliivibrio fischeri into the squid's light organ which is exposed to seawater. Once the number of Aliivibrio fischeri is accumulated in the light organ (about 100 bacteria within 12 hours) the squid stops producing mucus. It is important to note that Aliivibrio fischeri is not a permanent resident since squids expel up to 95% of their light producing bacteria.
The study of Aliivibrio fischeri contributes to the understanding of how bacteria experiences and responds to specific environmental conditions. It has helped researchers understand a number of microbial processes like motility and chemotaxis, biofilm formation, bacteria competition and the relevance of specific bacterial genes that colonize an animal host. Quorum sensing is a process used by Aliivibrio fischeri that helps communication between its own population. Bacteria senses and responds to cell density by producing chemical signals. Once a threshold is reached the “on switch” is flipped which activates their bioluminescent abilities. Quorum sensing is important because it is a common form of bacterial communication that controls biofilm formation and antibiotic resistance in other bacteria. Studying this process in Aliivibrio fischeri, scientists are able to develop ways to disrupt quorum sensing pathways in harmful bacteria and can lead to the development of new treatments for bacterial infections.
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