Cell-scale gene-expression measurements in Vibrio cholerae biofilms reveal spatiotemporal patterns underlying development.

ABSTRACT: Bacteria commonly exist in multicellular, surface-attached communities called biofilms. Biofilms are central to ecology, medicine, and industry. The Vibrio cholerae pathogen forms biofilms from single founder cells that, via cell division, mature into three-dimensional structures with distinct, yet reproducible, regional architectures. To define mechanisms underlying biofilm developmental transitions, we establish a single-molecule fluorescence in situ hybridization (smFISH) approach that enables accurate quantitation of spatiotemporal gene-expression patterns in biofilms at cell-scale resolution. smFISH analyses of V. cholerae biofilm regulatory and structural genes demonstrate that, as biofilms mature, overall matrix gene expression decreases, and simultaneously, a pattern

SUBMITTER: Johnson GE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11275835 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature