Bacteria pattern spontaneously on periodic nanostructure arrays.
Surface-associated bacteria typically form self-organizing communities called biofilms. Spatial segregation is important for various bacterial processes associated with cellular and community development. Here, we demonstrate bacterial ordering and oriented attachment on the single-cell level induced by nanometer-scale periodic surface features. These surfaces cause spontaneous and distinct patterning phases, depending on their periodicity, which is observed for several strains, both gram positive and negative. This patterning is a general phenomenon that can control natural biofilm organization on the cellular level.
Hochbaum
Allon I
AI
The Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, The Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, The School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, 29 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Aizenberg
Joanna
J
D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D018441:Biofilms; D049329:Nanostructures; D011550:Pseudomonas aeruginosa