PhD Candidate Florida Institute of Technology Cocoa, Florida
Body of Abstract: Quorum sensing (QS) is an intercellular signaling process by which microorganisms across all three domains of life couple phenotypic switching to population density. Driven by the synthesis, release, and perception of low-molecular weight signals, QS phenotypes have evolved to provide selective advantages to communal-like behaviors under specific conditions. We have previously demonstrated that the model organism Chlamydomonas reinhardtii exhibits QS-mediated motility suggesting the presence of this phenomenon in a genus with broad ecological distribution and potential biotechnology applications. Isolating the chemical signal(s) associated with this phenotype is crucial to understanding its mechanism of action and distribution within the genus. In the present study, we present our efforts to identify and characterize these signals.