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Spatial Structure of Microbes in Nature and the Biophysics of Cell–Cell Communication

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The Physical Basis of Bacterial Quorum Communication

Part of the book series: Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering ((BIOMEDICAL))

Abstract

Microbes are social organisms and their language is chemical. Microbial communities provide cells with structures that facilitate chemical communication and enable them to adapt to environmental pressure. Fossil records demonstrate that microbial communities existed several billion years ago [1] and a wide variety of observations point to the importance of these structures today [2]. The spatial organization of communities provides organisms with advantages for growth and adaptation in fluctuating environmental conditions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seaver Science Center (SSC) 223, University of Southern California, 920 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA

    James Q. Boedicker

  2. Department of Biochemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Katie Brenner & Douglas B. Weibel

  3. Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Douglas B. Weibel

  4. Department of Chemistry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Douglas B. Weibel

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    Stephen J. Hagen

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Boedicker, J.Q., Brenner, K., Weibel, D.B. (2015). Spatial Structure of Microbes in Nature and the Biophysics of Cell–Cell Communication. In: Hagen, S. (eds) The Physical Basis of Bacterial Quorum Communication. Biological and Medical Physics, Biomedical Engineering. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1402-9_4

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