Bonnie Bassler

Bonnie Lynn Bassler (born 1962)[2] is an American molecular biologist who has researched chemical communication between bacteria known as quorum sensing, and contributed to the idea that disruption of chemical signaling can be used as an antimicrobial therapy. She is the Squibb Professor in Molecular Biology and chair of the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University. She is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and her research focuses on bacterial quorum sensing, which is the cell-to-cell communication in bacteria.[3]

Bonnie Bassler
Born
Bonnie Lynn Bassler

1962 (age 57–58)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipU.S. Citizen
Alma materUniversity of California, Davis
Johns Hopkins University
Known forQuorum sensing
Spouse(s)Todd Reichart
AwardsWiley Prize in Biomedical Science (2009)
Richard Lounsbery Award (2011)
Shaw Prize (2015)
Pearl Meister Greengard Prize (2016)
Foreign Member of the Royal Society[1]
Genetics Society of America Medal (2020)
Scientific career
InstitutionsPrinceton University

She has received numerous awards for her research, including the Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences (2009), the Richard Lounsbery Award (2011), and the L’Oreal-UNESCO award (2012), a MacArthur Fellowship[4] (2002),[5] and the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize (2016).[6] She is a former president of the American Society for Microbiology, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a former six-year member of National Science Board.

Early life and education

Born in Chicago and raised in Danville, California,[7] Bassler was intellectually curious from a young age, as she enjoyed solving various logic puzzles. Bassler began her career in science "as a veterinarian’s assistant at the Miami Zoo and later at a local dog and cat clinic."[8] Bassler received a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry from the University of California, Davis. Despite her entry as a major in veterinary sciences, she preferred to focus on genetics and biochemistry. She stated that these subjects allowed her the "gateway to solving biological puzzles."[9] She began to work for UC Davis biochemistry and molscular medecine professor Frederic Troy. Troy's research focuses included bacterial carbohydrates and the relationship between the Epstein-Barr virus and cancer. At the time, the cancer project appealed to Bassler more than the research on bacteria, but Troy assigned her to the bacteria research project. Within this project, Bassler characterized an enzyme in E. coli which cleaved sugars from various membrane glycoproteins. Eventually, Bassler admired working with prokaryotes as she stated that "they're the perfect creatures to work on."[9]


Following her undergraduate research, Bassler received a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Johns Hopkins University.[10] She made key insights into the mechanism by which bacteria communicate,[11] known as quorum sensing. Her postdoctoral research was conducted at Agouron Institute in genetics for four years[12] Here, she studied glow-in-the-dark bacteria that cause the oceanic light show. She used her previous knowledge and research to demonstrate that when there were enough cohorts to make effort, bacteria gave off light. In 1994, Bassler joined the Princeton faculty. She is currently the chair of the department of molecular biology and the Squibb Professor in molecular biology.[13] Following her postdoctoral research, the MacArthur Foundation awarded Bassler its fellowship in 2002, which recognized her for her immense contributions to the bacterial lexicon.

Research

Bassler has been conducting research for the past two decades. During her postdoctoral research, Bassler continued working with bacteria. Bassler was originally experimenting with genetic manipulation of bioluminescent genes in bacteria. She began doing research with V. harveyi bacteria and discovered that this bacteria had multiple molecules for quorum sensing. She found that these bacteria use quorum sensing to turn on and off a large number of genes in response to communications from other bacteria. These communications and responses allow bacteria of the same species and of different species to cooperate in a similar manner to multi-cellular organisms. She furthered this research by attempting to figure out how bacteria communicate. A series of experiments led to the discovery that boron binding is used as a co-factor. This element is found in abundance in the oceans where V. harveyi is found.[14]


Currently, she leads a lab in Princeton University that researches in Quorum Sensing: the process of cell-cell communication in Bacteria.[15] Bassler's discoveries are described as "opening new vistas in basic science, but also of practical significance."[16] As antibiotic resistance in human pathogens continues to be a significant challenge in research, Bassler's research contributed new and exciting strategies for treating bacterial disease. Bassler has received numerous awards, but most recently she was awarded the Gruber Genetics Prize. Within Bassler's lab, they focus on intra- and inter-species communication, self versus non-self recognition, information transferring, and population level cooperation. She focuses on five related research topics: How Bacteria Distinguish Self from Other: Ligand-Receptor Interactions, Dynamics: Small RNA Regulation of Quorum Sensing, Biofilms Under Flow and the Public Goods Dilemma, Manipulation of Quorum Sensing on Demand, and Micriblome Quorum Sensing and Inter-Kingdom Communication. [15]


Apart from her research on Bacteria, Bassler has also made major contributions to the science community. Some of her contributions include authoring a section in iBiology's New Online Textbook. This textbook is a free source for students in higher education and self-learners. Bassler's section is a narrative on Quorum Sensing an How Bacteria Communicate.[17] She hopes to make sure that everyone gets opportunities to learn and participate in science.

Awards and honors

Selected works
  • Ng, W. L., & Bassler, B. L. (2009). Bacterial quorum-sensing network architectures. Annual review of genetics, 43, 197–222.[40]
  • Bassler, B. L., & Losick, R. (2006). Bacterially speaking. Cell, 125(2), 237–246.[41]
  • Camilli, A., & Bassler, B. L. (2006). Bacterial small-molecule signaling pathways. Science, 311(5764), 1113–1116.[42]
  • Waters, C. M., & Bassler, B. L. (2005). Quorum sensing: cell-to-cell communication in bacteria. Annu. Rev. Cell Dev. Biol., 21, 319–346.[43]
  • Lenz, D. H., Mok, K. C., Lilley, B. N., Kulkarni, R. V., Wingreen, N. S., & Bassler, B. L. (2004). The small RNA chaperone Hfq and multiple small RNAs control quorum sensing in Vibrio harveyi and Vibrio cholerae. Cell, 118(1), 69–82.[44]
  • Chen, X., Schauder, S., Potier, N., Van Dorsselaer, A., Pelczer, I., Bassler, B. L., & Hughson, F. M. (2002). Structural identification of a bacterial quorum-sensing signal containing boron. Nature, 415(6871), 545.[45]
  • Miller, M. B., & Bassler, B. L. (2001). Quorum sensing in bacteria. Annual Reviews in Microbiology, 55(1), 165–199.[46]
  • Schauder, S., Shokat, K., Surette, M. G., & Bassler, B. L. (2001). The LuxS family of bacterial autoinducers: biosynthesis of a novel quorum‐sensing signal molecule. Molecular microbiology, 41(2), 463–476.[47]
  • Surette, M. G., Miller, M. B., & Bassler, B. L. (1999). Quorum sensing in Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Vibrio harveyi: a new family of genes responsible for autoinducer production. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 96(4), 1639–1644.[48]
  • Bassler, B. L. (1999). How bacteria talk to each other: regulation of gene expression by quorum sensing. Current opinion in microbiology, 2(6), 582–587.[49]
  • Bassler, B. L., Wright, M., Showalter, R. E., & Silverman, M. R. (1993). Intercellular signalling in Vibrio harveyi: sequence and function of genes regulating expression of luminescence. Molecular microbiology, 9(4), 773–786.[50]

References
  1. Staff. "Professor Bonnie L. Bassler ForMemRS". The Royal Society. Retrieved 2012-10-21.
  2. "Book of Members, 1780-2010: Chapter B" (PDF). American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
  3. "Bonnie Bassler at Princeton".
  4. "MacArthur Foundation". www.macfound.org.
  5. "Princeton university news". Archived from the original on 2018-10-17. Retrieved 2018-10-10.
  6. "Princeton news".
  7. Ahmed, F. (2008). "Profile of Bonnie L. Bassler". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (13): 4969–4971. Bibcode:2008PNAS..105.4969A. doi:10.1073/pnas.0705870105. PMC 2278219. PMID 18362352.
  8. "The Shaw Prize - Top prizes for astronomy, life science and mathematics". www.shawprize.org. Retrieved 2019-03-16.
  9. Ahmed, Farooq (2008-03-24). "Profile of Bonnie L. Bassler". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (13): 4969–4971. Bibcode:2008PNAS..105.4969A. doi:10.1073/pnas.0705870105. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2278219. PMID 18362352.
  10. "Bonnie L. Bassler, Ph.D." Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Retrieved May 20, 2011.
  11. Schauder, S.; Bassler, B. L. (2001). "The languages of bacteria". Genes & Development. 15 (12): 1468–80. doi:10.1101/gad.899601. PMID 11410527.
  12. Ahmed, Farooq (2008-04-01). "Profile of Bonnie L. Bassler". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (13): 4969–4971. Bibcode:2008PNAS..105.4969A. doi:10.1073/pnas.0705870105. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 2278219. PMID 18362352.
  13. "Bonnie Bassler". Broad Institute. 20 March 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  14. Ahmed, Farooq (2008). "Profile of Bonnie L. Bassler". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 105 (13): 4969–4971. Bibcode:2008PNAS..105.4969A. doi:10.1073/pnas.0705870105. PMC 2278219. PMID 18362352.
  15. "Bassler Lab Research". scholar.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
  16. mmacfarl (2020-02-07). "Bonnie Bassler receives Gruber Genetics Prize". molbio.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
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  25. L’Oréal Foundation (26 March 2012). "Bonnie Bassler, 2012 L'Oréal-UNESCO Awards Laureate for North America" – via YouTube.
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  35. "National Academy of Medicine Elects 80 New Members - National Academy of Medicine". National Academy of Medicine. 2016-10-17. Retrieved 2018-10-20.
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  38. "Congratulations to the recipients of the 2020 GSA Awards!". Genetics Society of America. 2020-01-29. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
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  40. Ng, Wai-Leung; Bassler, Bonnie L. (December 2009). "Bacterial Quorum-Sensing Network Architectures". Annual Review of Genetics. 43 (1): 197–222. doi:10.1146/annurev-genet-102108-134304. ISSN 0066-4197. PMC 4313539. PMID 19686078.
  41. Bassler, Bonnie L.; Losick, Richard (April 2006). "Bacterially Speaking". Cell. 125 (2): 237–246. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2006.04.001. ISSN 0092-8674. PMID 16630813.
  42. Camilli, Andrew; Bassler, Bonnie L. (2006-02-24). "Bacterial Small-Molecule Signaling Pathways". Science. 311 (5764): 1113–1116. Bibcode:2006Sci...311.1113C. doi:10.1126/science.1121357. ISSN 0036-8075. PMC 2776824. PMID 16497924.
  43. Waters, Christopher M.; Bassler, Bonnie L. (November 2005). "QUORUM SENSING: Cell-to-Cell Communication in Bacteria". Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology. 21 (1): 319–346. doi:10.1146/annurev.cellbio.21.012704.131001. ISSN 1081-0706. PMID 16212498. S2CID 16560276.
  44. Lenz, Derrick H.; Mok, Kenny C.; Lilley, Brendan N.; Kulkarni, Rahul V.; Wingreen, Ned S.; Bassler, Bonnie L. (2004-07-09). "The Small RNA Chaperone Hfq and Multiple Small RNAs Control Quorum Sensing in Vibrio harveyi and Vibrio cholerae". Cell. 118 (1): 69–82. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2004.06.009. ISSN 0092-8674. PMID 15242645.
  45. Chen, Xin; Schauder, Stephan; Potier, Noelle; Van Dorsselaer, Alain; Pelczer, István; Bassler, Bonnie L.; Hughson, Frederick M. (January 2002). "Structural identification of a bacterial quorum-sensing signal containing boron". Nature. 415 (6871): 545–549. doi:10.1038/415545a. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 11823863.
  46. Miller, Melissa B.; Bassler, Bonnie L. (October 2001). "Quorum Sensing in Bacteria". Annual Review of Microbiology. 55 (1): 165–199. doi:10.1146/annurev.micro.55.1.165. ISSN 0066-4227. PMID 11544353.
  47. Schauder, Stephan; Shokat, Kevan; Surette, Michael G.; Bassler, Bonnie L. (2001-12-21). "The LuxS family of bacterial autoinducers: biosynthesis of a novel quorum-sensing signal molecule". Molecular Microbiology. 41 (2): 463–476. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2958.2001.02532.x. ISSN 0950-382X. PMID 11489131.
  48. Surette, Michael G.; Miller, Melissa B.; Bassler, Bonnie L. (1999-02-16). "Quorum sensing in Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhimurium, and Vibrio harveyi: A new family of genes responsible for autoinducer production". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 96 (4): 1639–1644. Bibcode:1999PNAS...96.1639S. doi:10.1073/pnas.96.4.1639. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 15544. PMID 9990077.
  49. Bassler, Bonnie L (December 1999). "How bacteria talk to each other: regulation of gene expression by quorum sensing". Current Opinion in Microbiology. 2 (6): 582–587. doi:10.1016/s1369-5274(99)00025-9. ISSN 1369-5274. PMID 10607620.
  50. Bassler, Bonnie L.; Wright, Miriam; Showalter, Richard E.; Silverman, Michael R. (August 1993). "Intercellular signalling in Vibrio harveyi: sequence and function of genes regulating expression of luminescence". Molecular Microbiology. 9 (4): 773–786. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2958.1993.tb01737.x. ISSN 0950-382X. PMID 8231809.
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