Imperial College London
Alternate

DrLauraNolan

Faculty of Medicine, National Heart & Lung Institute

Honorary Research Fellow
 
 
 
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Contact

 

l.nolan

 
 
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Location

 

G45Emmanuel Kaye BuildingRoyal Brompton Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Gloag:2013:10.1073/pnas.1218898110,
author = {Gloag, ES and Turnbull, L and Huang, A and Vallotton, P and Wang, H and Nolan, LM and Mililli, L and Hunt, C and Lu, J and Osvath, SR and Monahan, LG and Cavaliere, R and Charles, IG and Wand, MP and Gee, ML and Prabhakar, R and Whitchurch, CB},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1218898110},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
pages = {11541--11546},
title = {Self-organization of bacterial biofilms is facilitated by extracellular DNA},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1218898110},
volume = {110},
year = {2013}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - <jats:p>            Twitching motility-mediated biofilm expansion is a complex, multicellular behavior that enables the active colonization of surfaces by many species of bacteria. In this study we have explored the emergence of intricate network patterns of interconnected trails that form in actively expanding biofilms of            <jats:italic>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</jats:italic>            . We have used high-resolution, phase-contrast time-lapse microscopy and developed sophisticated computer vision algorithms to track and analyze individual cell movements during expansion of            <jats:italic>P. aeruginosa</jats:italic>            biofilms. We have also used atomic force microscopy to examine the topography of the substrate underneath the expanding biofilm. Our analyses reveal that at the leading edge of the biofilm, highly coherent groups of bacteria migrate across the surface of the semisolid media and in doing so create furrows along which following cells preferentially migrate. This leads to the emergence of a network of trails that guide mass transit toward the leading edges of the biofilm. We have also determined that extracellular DNA (eDNA) facilitates efficient traffic flow throughout the furrow network by maintaining coherent cell alignments, thereby avoiding traffic jams and ensuring an efficient supply of cells to the migrating front. Our analyses reveal that eDNA also coordinates the movements of cells in the leading edge vanguard rafts and is required for the assembly of cells into the “bulldozer” aggregates that forge the interconnecting furrows. Our observations have revealed that large-scale self-organization of cells in actively expanding biofilms of            <jats:italic>P. aeruginosa</jats:italic>            occurs through construction of an intricate network of furrows that is facilitated by eDNA.          </jats:p>
AU  - Gloag,ES
AU  - Turnbull,L
AU  - Huang,A
AU  - Vallotton,P
AU  - Wang,H
AU  - Nolan,LM
AU  - Mililli,L
AU  - Hunt,C
AU  - Lu,J
AU  - Osvath,SR
AU  - Monahan,LG
AU  - Cavaliere,R
AU  - Charles,IG
AU  - Wand,MP
AU  - Gee,ML
AU  - Prabhakar,R
AU  - Whitchurch,CB
DO  - 10.1073/pnas.1218898110
EP  - 11546
PY  - 2013///
SN  - 0027-8424
SP  - 11541
TI  - Self-organization of bacterial biofilms is facilitated by extracellular DNA
T2  - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1218898110
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/52518
VL  - 110
ER  -
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