Bacterial Communication Essay

Kazi Aditi Zahir

Professor Deirdre Flynn

PCL285H1

03 February 2014

Importance of Language in Bacterial Communication

During her presentation, Bonnie Bassler expends many different aspects of communication in a bacterial level and how successful communication is important to survival and efficient functioning. It is evident from her presentation that without a common language to communicate with, bacteria could not work as efficiently as they do, neither to immunize people nor create havoc in them. In her presentation, Bassler asserts the importance of the use of language in communication in bacteria, using rhetorical appeals – logical, ethical and emotional – and how it is consequently related to humans.

To begin with, of the three rhetorical appeals established in Bassler’s presentation, logical appeal was the most significant. Bassler created a background for the audience in the beginning of the presentation – by giving the basic definition of a bacteria and her research – which enables the audience to connect with her. She presented a series of questions and how the quest for the answers had led her team to their discovery – quorum sensing and its manipulation. Bassler’s presentation first outlined how her team figured out how bacteria functioned, then how the bacteria communicated followed by its detailed mechanism using a molecular biology approach. Then they used their knowledge to manipulate the conversation by modifying the words that the bacteria communicated with – they created anti-quorum sensing molecules that competed with the real quorum sensing molecule. Through this, they could inhibit this communication because the anti-quorum sensing molecules stopped the real molecules from doing their work. And so, by changing ...

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...s necessary in order for the communication to be effective. Without knowing how bacteria communicated her team couldn’t have furthered their research. Only through collaboration and a team effort it was possible for them to end up with such an important discovery. Like bacteria, communication is critical to human function which is done through the use of language. Like bacteria, humans work effectively through communication. Like bacteria, humans are social organisms – they use their language to communicate with each other. And like bacteria, humans live in a community. So, an underlying message of Bassler’s presentation on bacterial language is that effective communication is critical to human life as well and that programs like TED serves as a platform to “make a difference” through communication for the simple reason that it increases collaboration and success.