Real-time monitoring of quorum sensing in 3D-printed bacterial aggregates using scanning electrochemical microscopy

Condensed Matter journal club

Real-time monitoring of quorum sensing in 3D-printed bacterial aggregates using scanning electrochemical microscopy

  • Event time: 11:30am
  • Event date: 16th January 2015
  • Speaker: (School of Physics & Astronomy, University of Edinburgh)
  • Location: Room 2511,

Event details

Abstract

Microbes frequently live in nature as small, densely packed aggregates containing ~ 101 - 105. These aggregates not only display distinct phenotypes, including resistance to antibiotics, but also, serve as building blocks for larger biofilm communities. Aggregates within these larger communities display nonrandom spatial organization, and recent evidence indicates that this spatial organization is critical for fitness. Studying single aggregates as well as spatially organized aggregates remains challenging because of the technical difficulties associated with manipulating small populations. Micro-3D printing is a lithographic technique capable of creating aggregates in situ by printing protein-based walls around individual cells or small populations. This 3D-printing strategy can organize bacteria in complex arrangements to investigate how spatial and environmental parameters influence social behaviors. Here, we combined micro-3D printing and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) to probe quorum sensing (QS)-mediated communication in the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Our results reveal that QS-dependent behaviors are observed within aggregates as small as 500 cells; however, aggregates larger than 2,000 bacteria are required to stimulate QS in neighboring aggregates positioned 8 µm away. These studies provide a powerful system to analyze the impact of spatial organization and aggregate size on microbial behaviors.
PNAS 111 pages 18255-18260 (2014)
pdf version

Authors

Jodi L. Connell, Jiyeon Kim, Jason B. Shear, Allen J. Bard, Marvin Whiteley

About Condensed Matter journal club

Given the diversity of research in the CM group, chosen topics vary widely. We tend to stick to high-impact journals - Nature, Science, PNAS and PRL have been popular - but this is not prescriptive..

Find out more about Condensed Matter journal club.