MICROBIAL ADAPTATION TO A CHANGEABLE ENVIRONMENT - CELL-CELL INTERACTIONS MEDIATE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND GENETIC DIFFERENTIATION

Recent work by Magnuson, Solomon and Grossman((1)) adds to a growing b ody of evidence indicating that microorganisms possess sophisticated s ignaling systems that enable them to sense and respond to environmenta l challenges. Typically, this response results in morphological, physi ological and even genetic differentiation, paralleling that observed a mong higher organisms. These signaling systems may be interpreted as a daptations that maximize the reproductive potential of a population.