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Nature Cell Biology 7, 933–934 (1 October 2005) | doi:10.1038/ncb1005-933

Thieves, assassins and spies of the microbial world

Hera C. Vlamakis & Roberto Kolter

Extracellular signalling allows microbes to behave as multicellular entities and organize themselves in complex multi-species communities. Studies of how extracellular signals influence intra- and inter-species interactions are essential if we are to understand how microbes behave outside of the single-species cultures that have traditionally been studied in the laboratory.