Chirality in microbial biofilms is mediated by close interactions between the cell surface and the substratum.
Liselotte JauffredRebecca Munk VejborgKirill S KorolevStanley BrownLene Broeng OddershedePublished in: The ISME journal (2017)
From microbial biofilms to human migrations, spatial competition is central to the evolutionary history of many species. The boundary between expanding populations is the focal point of competition for space and resources and is of particular interest in ecology. For all Escherichia coli strains studied here, these boundaries move in a counterclockwise direction even when the competing strains have the same fitness. We find that chiral growth of bacterial colonies is strongly suppressed by the expression of extracellular features such as adhesive structures and pili. Experiments with other microbial species show that chiral growth is found in other bacteria and exclude cell wall biosynthesis and anisotropic shape as the primary causes of chirality. Instead, intimate contact with the substratum is necessary for chirality. Our results demonstrate that through a handful of surface molecules cells can fundamentally reorganize their migration patterns, which might affect intra- and interspecific competitions through colony morphology or other mechanisms.
Keyphrases
- escherichia coli
- cell wall
- microbial community
- cell surface
- induced apoptosis
- endothelial cells
- candida albicans
- poor prognosis
- genetic diversity
- capillary electrophoresis
- cell cycle arrest
- body composition
- ionic liquid
- physical activity
- cell death
- genome wide
- biofilm formation
- oxidative stress
- dna methylation
- staphylococcus aureus
- cystic fibrosis
- signaling pathway