title: A unique self-organization of bacterial sub-communities creates iridescence in Cellulophaga lytica colony biofilms.
abstract: Iridescent color appearances are widespread in nature. They arise from the interaction of light with micron- and submicron-sized physical structures spatially arranged with periodic geometry and are usually associated with bright angle-dependent hues. Iridescence has been reported for many animals and marine organisms. However, iridescence has not been well studied in bacteria. Recently, we reported a brilliant "pointillistic" iridescence in colony biofilms of marine Flavobacteria that exhibit gliding motility. The mechanism of their iridescence is unknown. Here, using a multi-disciplinary approach, we show that the cause of iridescence is a unique periodicity of the cell population in the colony biofilm. Cells are arranged together to form hexagonal photonic crystals. Our model highlights a novel pattern of self-organization in a bacterial biofilm. "Pointillistic" bacterial iridescence can be considered a new light-dependent phenomenon for the field of microbiology.
authors.affiliation: UMR 7266 CNRS- Littoral Environnement et Sociétés, Microbial Physiology Group - Université de La Rochelle, Avenue Michel Crépeau, 17042 La Rochelle, France.
authors.forename: Betty
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kientz
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QL, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Luke
authors.affiliation: School of Physics, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QL, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vukusic
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Mathématiques, Image et Applications EA 3165, Université de La Rochelle, France.
authors.forename: Renaud
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Péteri
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Mathématiques, Image et Applications EA 3165, Université de La Rochelle, France.
authors.forename: Cyrille
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Beaudry
authors.affiliation: Institut Français pour la Recherche et l'Exploitation de la Mer, Unité Santé Génétique et Microbiologie des Mollusques, Laboratoire de Génétique et de Pathologie des Mollusques Marins, La Tremblade, France.
authors.forename: Tristan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Renault
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Mathématiques, Image et Applications EA 3165, Université de La Rochelle, France.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.affiliation: UMR 7283 CNRS Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne, Institut de Microbiologie de la Méditerranée, University of Aix-Marseille, Marseille, France.
authors.forename: Tâm
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mignot
authors.affiliation: UMR 7266 CNRS- Littoral Environnement et Sociétés, Microbial Physiology Group - Université de La Rochelle, Avenue Michel Crépeau, 17042 La Rochelle, France.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rosenfeld
mesh_terms: D018441:Biofilms; D003116:Color; D041965:Flavobacteriaceae / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D000068897:Iridescence; D008027:Light
references.citation: Phys Rev Lett. 2015 Apr 17;114(15):158102
references.pmid: 25933342
references.citation: Rev Can Biol. 1964 Sep;23:367-74
references.pmid: 14237170
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 2014 May;196(9):1641-50
references.pmid: 24509318
references.citation: Science. 2010 May 7;328(5979):704-8
references.pmid: 20448176
references.citation: PLoS One. 2009;4(11):e8043
references.pmid: 19956632
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2012 Apr;78(7):2092-9
references.pmid: 22267664
references.citation: Appl Environ Microbiol. 2005 Aug;71(8):4801-8
references.pmid: 16085878
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2012 Sep 25;109(39):15712-5
references.pmid: 23019355
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013 Jun 11;110(24):9764-9
references.pmid: 23716701
references.citation: Nat Commun. 2015;6:6322
references.pmid: 25716102
references.citation: Stand Genomic Sci. 2011 Apr 29;4(2):221-32
references.pmid: 21677859
references.citation: Nature. 2003 Aug 14;424(6950):852-5
references.pmid: 12917700
references.citation: FEMS Microbiol Lett. 2012 Aug;333(2):101-8
references.pmid: 22681043
references.citation: Science. 2009 Jul 24;325(5939):398-9
references.pmid: 19628844
references.citation: Trends Biotechnol. 2009 Feb;27(2):116-27
references.pmid: 19167770
references.citation: Nat Photonics. 2012 Nov;6(11):759-763
references.pmid: 23160173
references.citation: J R Soc Interface. 2009 Apr 6;6 Suppl 2:S115-32
references.pmid: 19336344
references.citation: PLoS One. 2012;7(12):e52900
references.pmid: 23300811
references.citation: Syst Appl Microbiol. 2013 Jun;36(4):244-51
references.pmid: 23623798
references.citation: J Gen Microbiol. 1969 Oct;58(2):145-70
references.pmid: 5360473
references.citation: J Gen Microbiol. 1957 Apr;16(2):418-25
references.pmid: 13416519
references.citation: Biochim Biophys Acta. 1958 Jun;28(3):464-9
references.pmid: 13560395
references.citation: Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2006 Apr;73(4 Pt 1):041916
references.pmid: 16711845
references.citation: Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek. 1967;33(1):73-86
references.pmid: 4961928
references.citation: Mol Microbiol. 2007 Apr;64(2):512-33
references.pmid: 17493132
references.citation: Int J Syst Bacteriol. 1999 Jul;49 Pt 3:1231-40
references.pmid: 10425785
references.citation: IUBMB Life. 2009 Nov;61(11):1029-42
references.pmid: 19859977
references.citation: J Exp Biol. 1998 Aug;201(Pt 16):2343-7
references.pmid: 9679096
references.citation: J Bacteriol. 1984 Dec;160(3):1151-7
references.pmid: 6389508
references.citation: J R Soc Interface. 2014 Dec 6;11(101):20140678
references.pmid: 25401182