What bacteria sense in their surroundings: Knowing how environmental signals modulate bacterial behavior could help combat biofouling and antibiotic resistance

What bacteria sense in their surroundings: Knowing how environmental signals modulate bacterial behavior could help combat biofouling and antibiotic resistance: A new, rapid method is helping detect how bacteria sense and respond to changes in their environment. The food-poisoning pathogen, Salmonella, for example is adept at picking up cues to adjust to different locations and surrounding conditions. Researchers are trying to learn how external signals trigger some of its survival strategies, such as biofilm formation. Their new method could be tested in other bacterial species to increase knowledge about microbial sensing, and to develop practical medical, agricultural and industrial applications.