ArticleNature2015
Ion channels enable electrical communication in bacterial communities.
Article in Nature, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 361 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
361 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Molecular imaging of bacterial biofilms-a systematic review.Critical reviews in microbiology · 2024Pooled it
- A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Study to Evaluate the Effectiveness of a Fabric-Based Wireless Electroceutical Dressing Compared to Standard-of-Care Treatment Against Acute Trauma and Burn Wound Biofilm Infection.Advances in wound care · 2024Trial
- Engineered E. coli swarming for binary and analog input recording.Molecular systems biology · 2026Article
- Mechanism of Kch activation by ZnPNAS nexus · 2026Article
- Recent Advances in Analytical Platform for Single-Cell Microbial Electrochemistry.Chemical & biomedical imaging · 2026Review
- Biofilm state transitions: quorum sensing inhibition and network destabilization.Applied microbiology and biotechnology · 2026Review
- Bacterial Communication: The Possible Role of Quorum Sensing, Quantum Mechanics, and Quantum Tunneling.Metabolites · 2026Review
- The Bacillus subtilis circadian clock coordinates intricate spatiotemporal organisation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Osmotic stress triggers fast and reversible PMF collapse in Escherichia coli.Biophysical journal · 2026Article
- Macrophages sense and follow physiologically relevant KCell communication and signaling : CCS · 2026Article
- Magnetic medical microrobots with memory-capable genetic circuits.Science advances · 2026Article
- An ancestral glutamate receptor mediates cell volume regulation during high KThe Journal of biological chemistry · 2026Article
- Ambigols Uncouple Oxidative Phosphorylation In Vitro.ACS chemical biology · 2026Article
- Operando Microscopy of Photosynthetic Microbial Biohybrids Using Fluorescent Chemical Probes.ACS electrochemistry · 2026Article
- Generative active learning guided discovery of a tobramycin and ciprofloxacin adjuvant against multidrug-resistantActa pharmaceutica Sinica. B · 2026Article
- Toolbox of FRET-based c-di-GMP biosensors and its FRET-To-Sort application for genome-wide mapping of c-di-GMP regulation.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Membrane interfacial potential governs surface condensation and fibrillation of α-Synuclein in neurons.Nature communications · 2026Article
- The power of ionic movements in plants.The New phytologist · 2026Review
- Mind Everywhere: A Framework for Conceptualizing Goal-Directedness in Biology and Other Domains-Part Two.Biological theory · 2026Article
- Nanomaterials as electrochemical regulators of bacterial biofilms through the modulation of extracellular electron transport and ion channels.Journal of nanobiotechnology · 2026Review
301 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The study of bacterial ion channels has provided fundamental insights into the structural basis of neuronal signalling; however, the native role of ion channels in bacteria has remained elusive. Here we show that ion channels conduct long-range electrical signals within bacterial biofilm communities through spatially propagating waves of potassium. These waves result from a positive feedback loop, in which a metabolic trigger induces release of intracellular potassium, which in turn depolarizes neighbouring cells. Propagating through the biofilm, this wave of depolarization coordinates metabolic states among cells in the interior and periphery of the biofilm. Deletion of the potassium channel abolishes this response. As predicted by a mathematical model, we further show that spatial propagation can be hindered by specific genetic perturbations to potassium channel gating. Together, these results demonstrate a function for ion channels in bacterial biofilms, and provide a prokaryotic paradigm for active, long-range electrical signalling in cellular communities.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.