Unraveling bacterial behavior
Bacteria encounter a constant barrage of ever-changing temperature, acidity and chemical stimuli from their environment. The cells must absorb all of this information and choose the correct response — whether boosting their metabolism, reproducing themselves or counteracting the effects of a toxin. MIT biologist Michael Laub has dedicated his research to figuring out how cells interpret and respond to this cacophony of information so precisely. “That’s the classic problem I’m most interested in: How do cells regulate their own behavior?” says Laub, an associate professor of biology. Michael Laub Photo: M. Scott Brauer To answer that question, Laub and his students methodically probe the interactions of pairs of signaling proteins in bacteria. Their work not only illuminates the complex behavior of bacterial cells, but also sheds light on how such complexity evolved in bacteria and other organisms, starting from just a few basic building blocks. Recently they were able to...