Professor of Molecular Biology,
Princeton University Investigator,
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
10:00 am
Saturday, February 2, 2013
International Academy of Endodontics, Annual Meeting
The Fairmont Hotel
Dallas, Texas
"Advances in Bacterial Communication"
Bacteria, primitive single-celled organisms, communicate with chemical languages that allow them to synchronize their behavior and thereby act as multi-cellular organisms. This process is called quorum sensing and it enables bacteria to successfully infect and cause disease in plants, animals, and humans. Notably, quorum sensing controls biofilm formation and virulence factor production in many clinically-relevant pathogens. Investigations of the molecular mechanisms underly- ing quorum sensing are leading to the development of novel strategies to interfere with quorum sensing. These strategies form the basis of new therapies to be used as antibiotics.
Attendees will learn:
1. In a process called quorum sensing, bacteria communicate with one another using chemical molecules and that this process allows them to act in synchronized groups.
2. The molecule mechanisms underlying quorum sensing and how the process controls biofilm formation and virulence factor expression.
3. About new research exploring how to manipulate quorum sensing and its application in the clinic to control infectious diseases.
Disclosure: Princeton University, Howard Hughes Medical Institute
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