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Preparation, Imaging, and Quantification of Bacterial Surface Motility Assays
07:35

Preparation, Imaging, and Quantification of Bacterial Surface Motility Assays

Published on: April 7, 2015

A movable surface: formation of Yersinia sp. biofilms on motile Caenorhabditis elegans

Li Tan1, Creg Darby

  • 1Department of Microbiology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, BBRB Box 19, 1530 3rd Ave. South, Birmingham, AL 35294-2170, USA.

Journal of Bacteriology
|July 21, 2004
PubMed

Insights

Yersinia bacteria form biofilms on the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans head, blocking feeding. Normal motility is crucial for biofilm accumulation, which consists of bacterial carbohydrates.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology and Nematology
  • Bacterial Pathogenesis and Host Interaction

Background:

  • Bubonic plague transmission involves Yersinia pestis blocking flea digestion.
  • Yersinia species also impede feeding in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans via biofilm formation.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the mechanism of Yersinia biofilm formation on C. elegans.
  • To determine the composition of the biofilm matrix and its dependence on nematode behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized C. elegans mutants with varying motility defects.
  • Employed wheat germ agglutinin lectin as a probe to analyze biofilm composition.
  • Observed biofilm formation in the presence and absence of nematodes in bacterial lawns.

Main Results:

  • C. elegans mutants with impaired motility accumulated significantly less biofilm.
  • Biofilm matrix on C. elegans contains Yersinia-produced carbohydrates.
  • Bacterial carbohydrates were present in lawns before nematode addition, and biofilm accumulation required continuous nematode exposure.

Conclusions:

  • Nematode motility is essential for accumulating Yersinia biofilm.
  • The biofilm matrix is composed of bacterial carbohydrates and does not require nematode-bacterial signaling for initial formation.
  • Continuous interaction with Yersinia lawns drives biofilm accumulation on C. elegans.

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