4.7 Editorial Material

Rhythmic Spatial Self-Organization of Bacterial Colonies

Journal

MBIO
Volume 13, Issue 4, Pages -

Publisher

AMER SOC MICROBIOLOGY
DOI: 10.1128/mbio.01703-22

Keywords

bacteria; circadian rhythm; colony; pattern; spatial organisation

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Funding

  1. Fourth Dimension initiative of the Volkswagen Foundation

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Bacteria have the ability to self-organize in space and time within biofilms. A recent study reveals that P. aeruginosa biofilms exhibit a ring pattern that indicates alternating redox metabolism under light/dark cycles. This study discusses the conceptual requirements for proving the presence of a prokaryotic circadian clock behind pattern formation.
Bacteria display a remarkable capacity to organize themselves in space and time within biofilms. Traditionally, the spatial organization of biofilms has been dissected vertically; however, biofilms can exhibit complex, temporally structured, two-dimensional radial patterns while spreading on a surface. Kahl and colleagues report a ring pattern that indicates the alternating redox metabolism of P. aeruginosa biofilms under light/dark cycles. Does the presence of a rhythmic, daily phenotype imply a circadian rhythm? Here, we highlight several examples of rhythmic patterns reported in the literature for surface-colonizing multicellular assemblies and discuss the conceptual requirements for proving the presence of a prokaryotic circadian clock behind pattern formation.

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