title: Interfaces between bacterial and eukaryotic "neuroecology".
abstract: The sensory capacity of bacteria and macroalgae (seaweeds) is limited with respect to many modalities (visual, auditory) common in "higher" organisms such as animals. Thus, we expect that other modalities, such as chemical signaling and sensing, would play particularly important roles in their sensory ecology. Here, we discuss two examples of chemical signaling in bacteria and seaweeds: (1) the role of chemical defenses and quorum-sensing (QS) regulatory systems in bacterial colonization and infection of the red alga Delisea pulchra and their ecological consequences, and (2) the regulation of dispersal and differentiation by nitric oxide (NO) in bacterial biofilms. Consistent with the goals of neuroecology, in both cases, we investigate the links between specific signal-mediated molecular mechanisms, and ecological outcomes, for populations or assemblages of bacteria or seaweeds. We conclude by suggesting that because of the fundamental role played by chemical signaling in bacteria, bacterial systems, either by themselves or in interactions with other organisms, have much to offer for understanding general issues in neuroecology. Thus, further integration of microbiology with the biology of eukaryotes would seem warranted and is likely to prove illuminating.
authors: Centre for Marine Bio-Innovation and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia, 2052. p.steinberg@unsw.edu.au
authors: Peter D
authors: PD
authors: Steinberg
authors: Scott A
authors: SA
authors: Rice
authors: Alexandra H
authors: AH
authors: Campbell
authors: Diane
authors: D
authors: McDougald
authors: Tilmann
authors: T
authors: Harder
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000472:pathogenicity; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D018441:Biofilms; D004924:Escape Reaction; D056890:Eukaryota / Q000502:physiology*; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D014644:Genetic Variation; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D008386:Marine Biology; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000737:chemistry; D053038:Quorum Sensing; D000461:Rhodophyta / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D009569:Nitric Oxide