Fluid flow drives phenotypic heterogeneity in bacterial growth and adhesion on surfaces.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria often thrive in surface-attached communities, where they can form biofilms affording them multiple advantages. In this sessile form, fluid flow is a key component of their environments, renewing nutrients and transporting metabolic products and signaling molecules. It also controls colonization patterns and growth rates on surfaces, through bacteria transport, attachment and detachment. However, the current understanding of bacterial growth on surfaces neglects the possibility that bacteria may modulate their division behavior as a response to flow. Here, we employed single-cell imaging in microfluidic experiments to demonstrate that attached Escherichia coli cells can enter a growth arrest state while simultaneously enhancing their adhesion underflow. Despite utilizing clonal pop

SUBMITTER: Hubert A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11263347 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature