Synthetic quorum-sensing circuit to control consortial biofilm formation and dispersal in a microfluidic device.

ABSTRACT: To utilize biofilms for chemical transformations in biorefineries they need to be controlled and replaced. Previously, we engineered the global regulator Hha and cyclic diguanylate-binding BdcA to create proteins that enable biofilm dispersal. Here we report a biofilm circuit that utilizes these two dispersal proteins along with a population-driven quorum-sensing switch. With this synthetic circuit, in a novel microfluidic device, we form an initial colonizer biofilm, introduce a second cell type (dispersers) into this existing biofilm, form a robust dual-species biofilm and displace the initial colonizer cells in the biofilm with an extracellular signal from the disperser cells. We also remove the disperser biofilm with a chemically induced switch, and the consortial population could tune

SUBMITTER: Hong SH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3272573 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature