The Viruses That Eavesdrop on Their Hosts
By listening to signals exchanged by the bacteria they target, they can bide their time until they have enough fresh targets to infect.
When bacteria talk, Bonnie Bassler listens. She just never figured that viruses were listening, too.
Since the 1990s, the Princeton University biologist has been studying a phenomenon called quorum sensing, in which bacteria release molecules that indicate how many of their peers are around. Through these messages, they can coordinate their behavior and launch certain actions—such as infectious attacks—only when their numbers are large enough.
Bassler’s student Justin Silpe that a virus can listen in on these signals, for sinister ends. The virus in question is a phage—a spidery thing that infects and kills bacteria. Once it infects its host, it has two modes: wait or kill. If it
