Have You Heard of Bonnie Bassler? A Historical Perspective on a Remarkable Career

Abstract

AbstractThe area of chemical communication in bacteria has grown explosively since the end of the 20th century. Among a number of key individuals and seminal findings that broke open this area of microbiology, the contributions of Bonnie Bassler and her colleagues are immense and multi‐layered. In this short and informal review, I provide perspective on my own entry into this research field, my introduction to Dr. Bassler and her early findings, followed by the founding of the Bassler lab and the flood of brilliant experimentation and public outreach that has done so much to propel the field of bacterial chemical communication.