What is Microbial Memory?

What is Microbial Memory?

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By Dr. Maho Yokoyama, Ph.D.Reviewed by Christian Zerfaß, Ph.D.

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• Do Individual Microbial Cells Show a Memory?
• Can a Bacterial Community Change its Behavior based on Previous Exposure?
• The Verdict – Is Microbial Memory Real?
• Can Microbial Memory be Harnessed?

Complex organisms have the ability to remember, meaning that information about past experiences is memorized and can be recalled. While this is established, less is known about the memory of simple, unicellular organisms like bacteria. Do they somehow have the ability to recall information about their environment, for example? At least, their past experiences appear to have an effect on their behavior.