Dr Karen Tait is a Senior Scientist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory. Her research has focused on the involvement of bacterial quorum sensing (QS) signalling molecules in the development of marine communities. Bacteria use these QS signal molecules to regulate expression of many genes, including those involved in biofilm formation, motility, secondary metabolism and virulence. Within marine biofouling communities, Karen has demonstrated these consortia are hot-spots of both signal-producing and signal-degrading bacteria, and that key members of this community utilise QS to aid their attachment to surfaces. In addition, QS also influences the settlement of higher fouling organisms. Karen has demonstrated the problematic fouling alga, Ulva sp., and, more recently, the barnacle Balanus improvisus, tap in on this signalling system when locating surfaces for settlement. Also of interest are signalling interactions amongst coral- and sponge-associated microbes, and the production of signal-mimic compounds by micro-algae. More recently, Karen has expanded her interests of complex microbial communities to sediments. This work aims to determine the environmental drivers influencing microbial community structure and diversity in benthic habitats, particularly those microbes associated with nitrogen cycling, and the impact of environmental change on microbial community structure and function. Much of this work has involved studies of the impact of elevated CO2 and temperature on benthic microbes.

Involvement of bacterial quorum sensing (QS) signalling molecules in the development of marine communities.