RT Journal Article
T1 Self-Adaptation of Pseudomonas fluorescens Biofilms to Hydrodynamic Stress
A1 Jara Pérez, Josué
A1 Alarcón, Francisco
A1 Monnappa, Ajay K.
A1 Santos, José Ignacio
A1 Bianco, Valentino
A1 Nie, Pin
A1 Ciamarra, Massimo Pica
A1 Canales, Ángeles
A1 Dinis Vizcaíno, Luis Ignacio
A1 López-Montero, Iván
A1 Valeriani, Chantal
A1 Orgaz Martín, Belén
AB In some conditions, bacteria self-organize into biofilms, supracellular structures made of a self-produced embedding matrix, mainly composed of polysaccharides, DNA, proteins, and lipids. It is known that bacteria change their colony/matrix ratio in the presence of external stimuli such as hydrodynamic stress. However, little is still known about the molecular mechanisms driving this self-adaptation. In this work, we monitor structural features of Pseudomonas fluorescens biofilms grown with and without hydrodynamic stress. Our measurements show that the hydrodynamic stress concomitantly increases the cell density population and the matrix production. At short growth timescales, the matrix mediates a weak cell-cell attractive interaction due to the depletion forces originated by the polymer constituents. Using a population dynamics model, we conclude that hydrodynamic stress causes a faster diffusion of nutrients and a higher incorporation of planktonic bacteria to the already formed microcolonies. This results in the formation of more mechanically stable biofilms due to an increase of the number of crosslinks, as shown by computer simulations. The mechanical stability also relies on a change in the chemical compositions of the matrix, which becomes enriched in carbohydrates, known to display adhering properties. Overall, we demonstrate that bacteria are capable of self-adapting to hostile hydrodynamic stress by tailoring the biofilm chemical composition, thus affecting both the mesoscale structure of the matrix and its viscoelastic properties that ultimately regulate the bacteria-polymer interactions.
PB Frontiers Media
SN 1664-302X
YR 2021
FD 2021-01-12
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/8272
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/8272
LA eng
NO This work was supported by the UCM/Santander grant PR26/16-10B (CV, BO, and IL-M). IL-M, LD, and CV acknowledge financial support through grants PGC2018-097903-B-100, FIS2017-83706-R and FIS2016-78847. AKM is recipient of a Sara Borrell fellowship (CD18/00206) financed by the Spanish Ministry of Health. FA acknowledges the support from a Juan de la Cierva fellowship and VB from the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship No. 748170 ProFrost.
NO UCM/Santander grant
NO Sara Borrell fellowship - Spanish Ministry of Health
NO Juan de la Cierva fellowship
NO Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship
DS Docta Complutense
RD 8 abr 2025