Chandler Lab
Research Overview
The focus of the Chandler Laboratory research is on understanding interbacterial interactions in complex microbial communities, which have broad significance ranging from infections and natural ecosystems to synthetic systems. We use multiple-strain and multiple-species laboratory models and genetic tools to gain new insight into how bacterial interactions shape the structure, function, and evolution of complex communities. A focus of our work is quorum sensing, a type of cell-cell communication system that allows groups of bacteria to change their behavior in response to changes in cell density. We focus our studies on several species of Proteobacteria, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Chromobacterium subtsugae, a nonpathogenic soil bacterium that we use for studies of interspecies competition.