Psl trails guide exploration and microcolony formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms.

ABSTRACT: Bacterial biofilms are surface-associated, multicellular, morphologically complex microbial communities. Biofilm-forming bacteria such as the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa are phenotypically distinct from their free-swimming, planktonic counterparts. Much work has focused on factors affecting surface adhesion, and it is known that P. aeruginosa secretes the Psl exopolysaccharide, which promotes surface attachment by acting as 'molecular glue'. However, how individual surface-attached bacteria self-organize into microcolonies, the first step in communal biofilm organization, is not well understood. Here we identify a new role for Psl in early biofilm development using a massively parallel cell-tracking algorithm to extract the motility history of every cell on a newly coloni

SUBMITTER: Zhao K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4109411 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature