Journal article
Single-cell twitching chemotaxis in developing biofilms
- Abstract:
- Bacteria form surface-attached communities, known as biofilms, which are central to bacterial biology and how they affect us. While surface attached bacteria often experience strong chemical gradients, it remains unclear whether single cells can effectively perform chemotaxis on surfaces. Here we use microfluidic chemical gradients and massively-parallel automated tracking to study the behavior of the pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa during early biofilm development. We show that individual cells can efficiently move towards chemoattractants using pili-based “twitching” motility and the Chp chemosensory system. Moreover, we have discovered the behavioral mechanism underlying this surface chemotaxis: cells reverse direction more frequently when moving away from chemoattractant sources. These corrective maneuvers are triggered rapidly, typically before a wayward cell has ventured a fraction of a micron. Our work shows that single bacteria can direct their motion with submicron precision, and reveals the hidden potential for chemotaxis within bacterial biofilms.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1073/pnas.1600760113
Authors
+ Human Frontier Science Program
More from this funder
- Funding agency for:
- Durham, W
- Grant:
- LT001181/2011L
+ Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia
More from this funder
- Funding agency for:
- Oliveira, N
- Grant:
- SFRH-BD-73470-2010
- Publisher:
- National Academy of Sciences
- Journal:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences More from this journal
- Publication date:
- 2016-05-24
- Acceptance date:
- 2016-04-21
- DOI:
- ISSN:
-
1091-6490
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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pubs:620292
- UUID:
-
uuid:35971a57-28ba-4b60-8ca3-df7ee29071e8
- Local pid:
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pubs:620292
- Source identifiers:
-
620292
- Deposit date:
-
2016-05-11
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- National Academy of Sciences
- Copyright date:
- 2016
- Notes:
- Author(s) retain copyright; published by the National Academy of Sciences under license. This is the accepted manuscript version of the article. The final version is available online from the National Academy of Sciences at: [10.1073/pnas.1600760113]
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