Speaker
Description
Bacteria exist in two primary states: as free-floating planktonic cells or as sessile communities known as biofilms, which are embedded in a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Biofilms confer survival advantages, including nutrient retention, resistance to antibiotics, and facilitation of horizontal gene transfer. While biofilm formation has been extensively studied in structurally simple environments, such as Petri dishes and in well-mixed liquid cultures, the influence of physical structure on aggregation, resource availability, and biofilm dynamics remains poorly understood. We investigate how environmental architecture shapes bacterial aggregation and biofilm development under controlled flow conditions in porous media. Using Escherichia coli MG1655, we combine time-lapse microscopy with microfluidic systems to study biofilm growth in porous media. Preliminary results reveal peculiar spatial organization that changes over time. After an initial growth phase, extensive clogging emerges with unstable river-like flow paths through the biofilm itself, characterized by heterogeneous biomass distribution and dynamic restructuring of flow paths. These observations suggest that structural heterogeneity enhances biofilm plasticity, potentially improving nutrient accessibility under progressive clogging. Future work will explore how quorum sensing could be a potential driver of structural adaptation and apply quantitative metrics to characterize flow-path complexity. Understanding these interactions is critical for predicting biofilm behavior in natural and engineered systems, with implications for health, agriculture, and bioremediation.
| Country | Switzerland |
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