Electrical spiking in bacterial biofilms.

ABSTRACT: In nature, biofilms are the most common form of bacterial growth. In biofilms, bacteria display coordinated behaviour to perform specific functions. Here, we investigated electrical signalling as a possible driver in biofilm sociobiology. Using a multi-electrode array system that enables high spatio-temporal resolution, we studied the electrical activity in two biofilm-forming strains and one non-biofilm-forming strain. The action potential rates monitored during biofilm-forming bacterial growth exhibited a one-peak maximum with a long tail, corresponding to the highest biofilm development. This peak was not observed for the non-biofilm-forming strain, demonstrating that the intensity of the electrical activity was not linearly related to the bacterial density, but was instead correlated w

SUBMITTER: Masi E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4277093 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature