The Plymouth Student Scientist
Document Type
Literature Review
Abstract
Bacteria are found in numerous habitats within the vast marine realm. Many marine bacteria live together as a biofilm which allows them to closely interact and intimately influence each other‟s lives, mainly by the production of extracellular compounds such as antibiotics and exopolysaccharides. Coordination of the biofilm and communication between bacteria is controlled by a mechanism known as quorum sensing in which signal molecules called autoinducers are released and detected, resulting in an alteration of behaviour. These activities ultimately have implications on other organisms; controlling populations of invertebrates and algae, and affecting the health of eukaryotes, a major cause for concern in coral reefs worldwide. This paper reviews the interactions amongst bacterial species and the mechanisms directing them. It briefly discusses their effect on eukaryotes and hints at the increasing importance of understanding interactions between coral associated bacteria, and the mechanisms of bacterial infection in corals.
Publication Date
2010-07-01
Publication Title
The Plymouth Student Scientist
Volume
3
Issue
1
First Page
255
Last Page
268
ISSN
1754-2383
Deposit Date
May 2019
Embargo Period
2024-07-03
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Phillips, Grace
(2010)
"The mechanisms of marine bacterial interactions,"
The Plymouth Student Scientist: Vol. 3:
Iss.
1, Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24382/7pq8-f966
Available at:
https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk/tpss/vol3/iss1/5
