Research interest: Bacteria communicate with one another to participate in group behaviors via quorum sensing (QS); these behaviors are dependent on the concentration of autoinducers, which are molecules produced and detected by neighboring bacteria. Recently, the Bassler laboratory found that a vibriophage encodes QS system components that interact with an autoinducer produced by its bacterial host and that this QS cascade regulates the lytic genes of the phage. Using a combination of structural, biochemical, and genetic techniques, I intend to elucidate the molecular underpinnings of this QS cascade including the mechanism(s) by which the phage QS cascade is launched and the structural and biochemical mechanisms by which components of this cascade interact. This work will further our understanding of interkingdom QS mechanisms between bacteria and phages.