Bonnie Bassler and her Work on Bacterial Communication

Dec 3, 2011
Richard Cunliffe

Bonnie Bassler in Conference - Steve Jurvetson

A brief study of the American molecular biologist responsible for groundbreaking research into bacterial conversations and quorum sensing.

Genius can take many forms. In the sphere of scientific discovery, genius can certainly involve finding something new, but might equally be about understanding the discovery’s relevance. Put more simply, genius can be about both sketching the little picture and seeing the big one. Bonnie Bassler appears to have a talent for both.

So who is Bonnie Bassler?

Born in 1962, Bonnie Lynn Bassler is an American molecular biologist. With a Ph. D. In biochemistry from Johns Hopkins University, Bassler has been a professor at Princeton University since 1994.

In 2007 she was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, largely due to her discoveries about how bacteria communicate with each other, a process now called quorum sensing.

What is Quorum Sensing?

The scientific field concerned with the question of how bacteria “talk” to each other didn’t exist until Bassler turned her mind to the subject. She’s the first to admit that her interest was sparked largely by chance.

Attending a rare lecture by the reclusive geneticist Mike Silverman, Bassler's understanding of Silverman’s message was limited. But she became excited when he claimed that luminescent bacteria appeared to talk to each other. Her first thought was, no way, but her attitude changed when she considered the differences in perspective that Silverman and she held toward bacteria. Silverman, a geneticist, saw them as personalities. While recognising Silverman's viewpoint, Bassler had, until then, studied bacteria from a traditional, biological standpoint.

Intrigued, Bassler asked Silverman for a research position, in order that she could examine his claims. He agreed, and she got to work. Sure enough, her studies revealed that a species of bacteria called vibrio harveyi send out chemical signals called autoinducers to let other bacteria of the same genre know that they are present. When a sufficient number of cells – a quorum – sense that the others are there, they behave as a group rather than as individuals. In the case of vibrio harveyi, the group behaviour is that they become luminescent, glowing bright blue in concert with each other.

Developments at Princeton

Although intrigued, the wider scientific community wasn’t, for the most part, so wowed by Bassler’s discovery as to provide opportunities for further research. Princeton University was the exception, offering Bassler the opportunity to pursue what had now become a passion, one that she thought had greater significance than many of her peers realised. Sure enough, Bassler went on to discover that all species of bacteria, not only vibrio harveyi, will both talk among themselves, and then act together as a group. A single cholera cell, for example, won’t emit toxins, but a quorum of them will.

This revelation was a game changer, as it led to new thinking in how we might protect ourselves against aggressive bacteria. It’s now thought that combating infection may be a matter of intervening in a bacterial conversation, and well-funded research is underway into how that can be achieved.

Bassler’s Hinterland

Bassler is nowadays widely celebrated, her most recent accolade being the 2012 Laureate for North America of the L’OREAL-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science. Most importantly, her work is not only recognised, but well financed.

But Bassler seems to lack the huge ego for which she might be forgiven. She’s quick to acknowledge the serendipitous nature of her original discovery, and to give others on her team credit for a succession of important breakthroughs.

Moreover, while remaining devoted to research, Bassler has a life outside her laboratory. It’s reported, for example, that she rises before six in the morning, in order to teach an hour’s aerobics at her local YWCA – something she’s done for over twenty years. There’s something refreshing about a genius who combines groundbreaking work with normal, human stuff, even if – or rather, especially when – the normal stuff gets crammed into abnormal hours of the day.