Collective condensation and auto-aggregation of Escherichia coli in uniform acidic environments.

ABSTRACT: Chemotaxis-the movement of cells along chemical gradients-leads to collective behaviors when cells coordinate their movements. Here, using Escherichia coli as a model, we demonstrate a distinct type of bacterial collective response in acidic environments containing organic acids. Bacterial populations immersed in such environments collectively condensed into millimeter-sized focal points. Furthermore, this bacterial condensation fostered the formation of small, tightly packed cell aggregates, resembling non-surface-attached biofilms. These cell aggregates were physically displaced by the free-swimming condensing cells, leading to the segregation of the two cell populations. Bacterial condensation relied on feedback between the tendency of these bacteria to neutralize the pH and their chemo

SUBMITTER: Livne N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11339372 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature