AP Biology and Biotech Students Make “Brilliant” Discoveries in the Lab

Dr. Pierce's AP Biology and Biotechnology classes got to explore the advanced concept of quorum sensing in the lab in early February.

Quorum sensing is the discovery made by Princeton University researcher Dr. Bonnie Bassler that bacteria “talk” to each other and collaborate to carry out all sorts of actions, from bioluminescence in the ocean to virulent attacks on hosts to communicating with our own body cells to fend off other invading bacteria.

Going beyond the standard lab bacteria, E. coli, that they have already studied, students learned how to conduct experiments with a marine bacteria called Vibrio campbellii. Working with new strains first available this fall, our budding researchers tested how different mutations affected the bacteria’s ability to communicate and, in response, bioluminesce together. Their results created a beautiful otherworldly glow in the lab while deepening their understanding of cell and molecular processes.

See Photos from the Class:

(Click on a thumbnail to see the full image.)