嗅覺是動物的一個重要感官功能,，而一項最新研究顯示,，細(xì)菌這種單細(xì)胞生物也有類似的“嗅覺”,，它可以感知空氣中的氣味,，并由此對周邊環(huán)境做出判斷。
英國紐卡斯?fàn)柎髮W(xué)１６日發(fā)布公報說，該校研究人員利用土壤中常見的地衣桿菌和枯草桿菌進(jìn)行實驗,。結(jié)果顯示，它們都能“嗅出”空氣中氨氣的氣味,，并集體做出向氣味來源方向擴(kuò)張的反應(yīng),。
研究人員說，這是因為氨氣是細(xì)菌消耗食物時常釋放的副產(chǎn)品,，對其他細(xì)菌而言,，這意味著氣味來源方向有食物，以及已有細(xì)菌競爭者,。實驗中,，“嗅到”氣味的細(xì)菌會集體結(jié)成一種生物膜，既便于向食物靠近,，也有助于和其他細(xì)菌競爭,。
領(lǐng)導(dǎo)研究的奈蘭博士說，這是首次發(fā)現(xiàn)細(xì)菌也有能聞氣味的“鼻子”,。實際上,，細(xì)菌作為單細(xì)胞生物，并沒有“鼻子”這樣的器官,，下一步研究將關(guān)注細(xì)菌體內(nèi)哪些分子承擔(dān)了“嗅覺”工作,。如果能由此找到抑制細(xì)菌形成生物膜的方法，將有助于在醫(yī)療等領(lǐng)域阻止細(xì)菌在器械上形成有破壞性的生物膜,。
該研究報告發(fā)表在新一期《生物技術(shù)雜志》上,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原文出處：
Biotechnology Journal DOI: 10.1002/biot.201000174
Bacterial Olfaction
Reindert Nijland1,2, J. Grant Burgess Professor1,*
Sensing their environment is a crucial ability of all life forms. In higher eukaryotes the sensing of airborne volatile compounds, or olfaction, is well developed. In plants, slime moulds and yeast there is also compelling evidence that these organisms can smell their environment and respond accordingly. Here we show that bacteria are also capable of olfaction. Bacillus licheniformis was able to sense airborne volatile metabolites produced by neighbouring bacterial cultures and cells could respond to this chemical information in a coordinated way. When Bacillus licheniformis was grown in a microtitre plate adjacent to a bacterial culture of the same or a different species, growing in complex medium, biofilm formation and pigment production were elicited by volatile molecules. A weaker response occurred in increasingly distant wells. The emitted volatile molecule was identified as ammonia. These data demonstrate that B. licheniformis has evolved the ability collect information about its environment from the surrounding air and physiologically respond to it in a manner similar to olfaction. This is the first time that a behavioural response triggered by odorant molecules received through the gas phase is described in bacteria.
