Production of sound waves by bacterial cells and the response of bacterial cells to sound.
Bacterial cells enhance the proliferation of neighboring cells under stress conditions by emitting a physical signal. Continuous single sine sound waves produced by a speaker at frequencies of 6-10, 18-22, and 28-38 kHz promoted colony formation by Bacillus carboniphilus under non-permissive stress conditions of high KCl concentration and high temperature. Furthermore, sound waves emitted from cells of Bacillus subtilis at frequencies between 8 and 43 kHz with broad peaks at approximately 8.5, 19, 29, and 37 kHz were detected using a sensitive microphone system. The similarity between the frequency of the sound produced by B. subtilis and the frequencies that induced a response in B. carboniphilus and the previously observed growth-promoting effect of B. subtilis cells upon B. carboniphilus through iron barriers, suggest that the detected sound waves function as a growth-regulatory signal between cells.
Matsuhashi
Michio
M
Department of Biological Science and Technology, Department of Information and Communication Technology, Tokai University, Numazu 410-0321, Japan.
Pankrushina
Alla N. L.
AN
Takeuchi
Satoshi
S
Ohshima
Hideyuki
H
Miyoi
Housaku
H
Endoh
Katsura
K
Murayama
Ken
K
Watanabe
Hiroshi
H
Endo
Shigeo
S
Tobi
Mikio
M
Mano
Yoshihiro
Y
Hyodo
Masao
M
Kobayashi
Torakichi
T
Kaneko
Tomohiko
T
Otani
Sugio
S
Yoshimura
Susumu
S
Harata
Akira
A
Sawada
Tsuguo
T