Tug of war among bacteria
Friday, October 30, 2015 - 19:00
in Biology & Nature
At the University of Cologne, biophysicists in the lab of Professor Berenike Maier were now able to show how differential mechanical forces can lead to cell sorting in biofilms, thereby determining their architecture. In their publication in the journal eLife, the team headed by the biophysicist Enno Oldewurtel showed how specific mechanical forces can be the key to the structure of a biofilm. Bacteria with different surface structures organized themselves in a "tug of war": the cells actively moved in the direction in which they could pull the strongest onto neighboring bacteria.