Scientists Visualize Bacteria’s Traffic Management System

Scientists have visualized how bacteria co-ordinate movement and form intricate networks of interconnected trails, much like furrows in a field, while spreading on a surface.

AsianScientist (Jun. 26, 2013) – Australian scientists have visualized how bacteria form intricate networks of interconnected trails, much like furrows in a field, while spreading on a surface.

In their study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the researchers used advanced microscopy techniques and sophisticated computer vision analysis to explore how bacterial biofilms spread.

Biofilms are formed when bacteria stick to each other on a surface, forming a film-like layer.

The researchers studied how the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa behaved during biofilm expansion. This is a pathogen that often causes infections when objects such as catheters are inserted into the human body.

By tracking the bacteria, the team was able to deduce how individual cell movements are co-ordinated and how intricate networks of interconnected trails are formed during biofilm expansion.

“This research reveals how co-ordination between individual bacteria can lead to complex group behaviour to enable biofilm expansion on a surface” said Associate Professor Cynthia Whitchurch, the leader of the study.

The researchers discovered that groups of bacteria build and migrate along a furrow on a surface – much like a well-trodden path across a grassy field. In effect, this was a traffic management system that ensured a smooth flow of bacterial cells down the line towards the front of an expanding biofilm.

The team also discovered that DNA found outside human cells acted not as coding molecules but as a structural ‘rope’ that helped guide the transit of the bacteria. This extracellular DNA acted as glue, binding groups of bacteria together and forming ‘bulldozers’ that forged the furrows.

The article can be found at: Gloag et al. (2013) Self-Organization Of Bacterial Biofilms Is Facilitated By Extracellular DNA.

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Source: UTS; Photo: crowdive/Flickr.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

Yew Chung is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore.

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