Journal
ELIFE
Volume 11, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
eLIFE SCIENCES PUBL LTD
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.79780
Keywords
long-range transport; interfacial mechanics; pattern formation; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Staphylococcus aureus; Other
Categories
Funding
- Ministry of Science and Technology Most China [2020YFA0910700]
- Research Grants Council of Hong Kong SAR (RGC) [14306820, 14307821, RFS2021-4S04]
- Research Grants Council of Hong Kong SAR (CUHK Direct Grants)
- Guangdong Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholar [2020B1515020003]
- Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation [2019A1515110640]
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This study reports a unique form of actively regulated long-range directed material transport in structured bacterial communities, mediated by biosurfactants secreted by cells. This mechanism helps to eradicate colonies of a competing species.
Long-range material transport is essential to maintain the physiological functions of multicellular organisms such as animals and plants. By contrast, material transport in bacteria is often short-ranged and limited by diffusion. Here, we report a unique form of actively regulated long-range directed material transport in structured bacterial communities. Using Pseudomonas aeruginosa colonies as a model system, we discover that a large-scale and temporally evolving open-channel system spontaneously develops in the colony via shear-induced banding. Fluid flows in the open channels support high-speed (up to 450 mu m/s) transport of cells and outer membrane vesicles over centimeters, and help to eradicate colonies of a competing species Staphylococcus aureus. The open channels are reminiscent of human-made canals for cargo transport, and the channel flows are driven by interfacial tension mediated by cell-secreted biosurfactants. The spatial-temporal dynamics of fluid flows in the open channels are qualitatively described by flow profile measurement and mathematical modeling. Our findings demonstrate that mechanochemical coupling between interfacial force and biosurfactant kinetics can coordinate large-scale material transport in primitive life forms, suggesting a new principle to engineer self-organized microbial communities.
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