numbers will shrink. With an increase in cheaters,
ultimately every individual suffers, leading to what
he calls the “Tragedy of the Commons”.
Without too many obstacles in their research,
thanks to predecessors Anitol Eberhard and
Ken Nealson who monumentally found the first
member of this class, Prof. Greenberg and his
team were able to identify additional anti-quorum
sensing compounds. “The greatest problem is
always constructing strains of bacteria that we can
use as bioreporters to measure the signals”. With
work beginning on
Vibrio fischeri
initially and then
P. aeruginosa
, as well as a number of uncovered
signals in other bacteria, Prof. Greenberg stresses
the importance of investigating diverse systems
and the discrepancies of which bacteria use
quorum sensing to help us understand bacterial
cell communication better in general.
Applications are wide and varied once we
understand the mechanism of quorum sensing
in plants and animals. Chinese fish farms have
already begun to adopt anti-quorum sensing
technologies to fight against diseases among
fish. In South Korea, water filtration plants have
implemented similar technologies to combat the
growth of unwanted biofilm and extend the life of
filters. Quorum-sensing drugs are an unexplored
avenue, but its implications are endless once the
ball gets rolling. Research has shown that certain
foods such as garlic and ginseng may contain
active ingredients that are natural quorum sensing
inhibitors. Prof. Greenberg pointed out that “The
trouble is what to do from there [understanding
quorum sensing] ... quorum sensing signals can
have utility in the biomanufacturing world to
regulate production of whatever kind of product
one would like to make biologically”.
的反騙子機制。個別細菌因而未能知道同類數目是增多還
是萎縮，結果是數目減少。騙子多了，最終每個細菌都會受
害，這就是格林伯格教授所說的「公地悲劇」。
第一個抗群體感應化合物是由Anitol Eberhard和Ken
Nealson發現的。有了這個線索，格林伯格教授的團隊沒有
碰到太多障礙，就發現了更多的抗群體感應化合物。「最大
的困難是要構建可以探測特定信號的生物報告菌株。」格林
伯格教授先後研究了鯢弧菌、綠膿桿菌和其他細菌的不同
信號，強調必須要研究多個系統和不同的群體感應，才能對
細菌溝通有一個較全面的理解。
植物和動物細胞的群體感應機制破解後，就可衍生出廣
泛不同的應用。中國的養殖場已經使用抗群體感應技術來
控制魚類疾病；某些南韓的濾水廠也利用類似科技來防止
細菌形成菌膜，以延長濾膜壽命。現在還未有研發抗群體感
應藥物，但可以預見這方面的應用將帶來無限可能。已有研
究指出，某些食物如大蒜、人參的
活性成分可能正是天然的群體感
應抑製劑。格林伯格教授指出：
「讓人傷腦筋的是[破解了群體感
應機制]之後要做些什麼……
將群體感應信號應用於
生物製造，可以調控生
產出任何人類想要的
生物產品。」
2015年度邵逸夫生命科學與醫學獎 得主
－
邦妮•巴斯勒教授
和
彼德•格林伯格教授
21
