Even ancient bacteria possessed intercellular communication structures like humans today, study finds
Communication between cells in plants, animals and humans takes place via specialized connecting structures. An international team led by biologists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) and involving the University of Tübingen has now discovered that the regulation of very similar structures was already present in multicellular bacteria, implying that it must have originated much…
A study conducted by an international team led by biologists from Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and involving the University of Tübingen has revealed that ancient bacteria possess communication structures akin to those found in humans today. Published in The EMBO Journal, the research team discovered that the regulation of similar structures in multicellular bacteria occurred much earlier in the course of evolution than previously thought.
The exchange of calcium ions plays a central role in this communication process, similar to its function in higher eukaryotic cells such as human cells. The presence of calcium-binding proteins and the formation of specific cell-to-cell connections, known as septum junctions, were found to be regulated by calcium signals in these ancient bacteria, suggesting that the fundamental principles of intercellular communication date back a billion years.
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