1 research outputs found
How Bacteria Respond to Material Stiffness during Attachment: A Role of <i>Escherichia coli</i> Flagellar Motility
Material
stiffness has been shown to have potent effects on bacterial attachment
and biofilm formation, but the mechanism is still unknown. In this
study, response to material stiffness by <i>Escherichia coli</i> during attachment was investigated with biofilm assays and cell
tracking using the Automated Contour-base Tracking for in Vitro Environments
(ACT<i>IV</i>E) computational algorithm. By comparing the
movement of <i>E. coli</i> cells attached on polyÂ(dimethylsiloxane)
(PDMS) surfaces of different Young’s moduli (0.1 and 2.6 MPa,
prepared by controlling the degree of cross-linking) using ACT<i>IV</i>E, attached cells on stiff surfaces were found more motile
during early stage biofilm formation than those on soft surfaces.
To investigate if motility is important to bacterial response to material
stiffness, we compared <i>E. coli</i> RP437 and its isogenic
mutants of flagellar motor (<i>motB</i>) and synthesis of
flagella (<i>fliC</i>) and type I fimbriae (<i>fimA</i>) for attachment on 0.1 and 2.6 MPa PDMS surfaces. The <i>motB</i> mutant exhibited defects in response to PDMS stiffness (based on
cell counting and tracking with ACT<i>IV</i>E), which was
recovered by complementing the <i>motB</i> gene. Unlike <i>motB</i> results, mutants of <i>fliC</i> and <i>fimA</i> did not show significant defects on both face-up and
face-down surfaces. Collectively, these findings suggest that <i>E. coli</i> cells can actively respond to material stiffness
during biofilm formation, and <i>motB</i> is involved in
this response