Bacterial collectives combine signalling, division of labour, environmental memory and local decision rules to achieve capabilities unavailable to individual cells.
A new review connects mechanisms including quorum sensing, electrical potassium signalling, chemotactic waves, phenotypic switching and possible stigmergy. Bacillus biofilms can even coordinate nutrient consumption between separate colonies through long-range electrical signals, effectively time-sharing a resource. Other bacteria collectively navigate mazes, hunt prey, allocate specialised roles and preserve population resilience through heterogeneous behaviours, all without central control.
https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aisy.70534
