Abstract
Conditions affecting biofilm formation differ among bacterial species and this presents a challenge to studying biofilms in the lab. This work leverages functionalized silanes to control surface chemistry in the study of early biofilm propagation, quantified with a semi-automated image processing algorithm. These methods support the study of Pantoea sp. YR343, a gram-negative bacterium isolated from the poplar rhizosphere. We found that Pantoea sp. YR343 does not readily attach to hydrophilic surfaces but will form biofilms with a “honeycomb” morphology on hydrophobic surfaces. Our image processing algorithm described here quantified the evolution of the honeycomb morphology over time, and found the propagation to display a logarithmic behavior. This methodology was repeated with a flagella-deficient fliR mutant of Pantoea sp. YR343 which resulted in reduced surface attachment. Quantifiable differences between Pantoea WT and ΔfliR biofilm morphologies were captured by the image processing algorithm, further demonstrating the insight gained from these methods.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 100088 |
| Journal | Biofilm |
| Volume | 4 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2022 |
Funding
This work was supported by the Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research , as part of the Plant Microbe Interfaces Scientific Focus Area ( http://pmi.orn.gov ). Scanning electron microscopy was carried out at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility. This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy . The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan( http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan ). This manuscript has been authored by UT-Battelle, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC05-00OR22725 with the U.S. Department of Energy. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes. The Department of Energy will provide public access to these results of federally sponsored research in accordance with the DOE Public Access Plan(http://energy.gov/downloads/doe-public-access-plan).The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Scott T. Retterer reports financial support was provided by US Department of Energy. Michelle Halsted reports was provided by US Department of Energy. Jennifer Morrell-Falvey reports financial support was provided by US Department of Energy. Amber Bible reports financial support was provided by US Department of Energy.This work was supported by the Office of Science, Biological and Environmental Research, as part of the Plant Microbe Interfaces Scientific Focus Area (http://pmi.orn.gov). Scanning electron microscopy was carried out at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences, which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility.
Keywords
- Biofilm
- Honeycomb
- Image analysis
- Imaging
- Quantification
- Quantitative
- Surface