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Updated: Jun 29, 2026

Analyzing and Building Nucleic Acid Structures with 3DNA
Published on: April 26, 2013
Elasticity-mediated nematiclike bacterial organization in model extracellular DNA matrix
Ivan I Smalyukh1, John Butler, Joshua D Shrout
1Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA. ivan.smalyukh@colorado.edu
Abstract:
DNA is a common extracellular matrix component of bacterial biofilms. We find that bacteria can spontaneously order in a matrix of aligned concentrated DNA, in which rod-shaped cells of Pseudomonas aeruginosa follow the orientation of extended DNA chains. The alignment of bacteria is ensured by elasticity and liquid crystalline properties of the DNA matrix. These findings show how behavior of planktonic bacteria may be modified in extracellular polymeric substances of biofilms and illustrate the potential of using complex fluids to manipulate embedded nanosized and microsized active particles.
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