Use of microfluidic technology to analyze gene expression during Staphylococcus aureus biofilm formation reveals distinct physiological niches.

ABSTRACT: The Staphylococcus aureus cid and lrg operons play significant roles in the control of autolysis and accumulation of extracellular genomic DNA (eDNA) during biofilm development. Although the molecular mechanisms mediating this control are only beginning to be revealed, it is clear that cell death must be limited to a subfraction of the biofilm population. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that cid and lrg expression varies during biofilm development as a function of changes in the availability of oxygen. To examine cid and lrg promoter activity during biofilm development, fluorescent reporter fusion strains were constructed and grown in a BioFlux microfluidic system, generating time-lapse epifluorescence images of biofilm formation, which allows the spatial and temporal locali

SUBMITTER: Moormeier DE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3648040 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature