Soil-mimicking microfluidic devices reveal restricted flagellar motility of Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens under microconfinement.

ABSTRACT: Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens is a nitrogen-fixing symbiont of soybean, worldwide used as biofertilizer. This soil bacterium possesses two flagellar systems enabling it to swim in water-saturated soils. However, the motility in soil pores, which may be crucial for competitiveness for root nodulation, is difficult to predict. To address this gap, we fabricated microfluidic devices with networks of connected microchannels surrounding grains. In them, we directly visualise bacterial behaviour in transparent geometries mimicking minimalist soils-on-a-chip (SOCs). We measured the population velocities and changes of direction for two strains: the wild-type and a mutant with only a subpolar flagellum. A detailed statistical analysis revealed that both strains exhibited reduced speeds and increas

SUBMITTER: Monteiro MP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12032429 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature