Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Methods for Controlling Microbial Growth01:29

Methods for Controlling Microbial Growth

2.3K
Microbial growth control refers to various methods employed to inhibit, reduce, or eliminate microorganisms to ensure safety and hygiene across different settings. These methods are categorized based on the target environment and the level of microbial control required.Biocides are versatile agents designed to control microorganisms by either inhibiting their growth or outright killing them. These agents work through various physical, chemical, mechanical, or biological mechanisms. The...
2.3K
Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing01:28

Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing

833
Quorum sensing is a mechanism of bacterial communication that enables coordinated gene expression in response to changes in population density. This facilitates collective behaviors that enhance survival, resource acquisition, and ecological adaptation. This process relies on small signaling molecules called autoinducers that accumulate as bacterial populations grow. When a critical threshold concentration of autoinducers is reached, bacterial cells collectively modify gene expression,...
833
Chemotaxis in E. coli01:27

Chemotaxis in E. coli

1.2K
Chemotaxis in Escherichia coli is a sensory-driven motility mechanism that enables bacteria to navigate chemical gradients, moving toward beneficial environments while avoiding harmful conditions. This process relies on a signal transduction system integrating external chemical cues with flagellar motor control.Chemoreceptors and Signal DetectionE. coli detects chemical gradients through methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins (MCPs), which are membrane-bound chemoreceptors that sense attractants...
1.2K
Coordination of Gene Expression Processes in Bacteria01:29

Coordination of Gene Expression Processes in Bacteria

813
The DNA replication, transcription, and translation processes are intricately coupled in bacteria, allowing efficient gene expression and rapid protein synthesis. While this physical and functional coordination is advantageous, it introduces challenges that bacteria overcome through specific regulatory mechanisms.Coupling of Replication, Transcription, and TranslationThe coupling of replication, transcription, and translation is a hallmark of bacterial gene expression. As the replisome unwinds...
813
Bacterial Growth Curve01:28

Bacterial Growth Curve

4.5K
The bacterial growth curve is a fundamental concept in microbiology that describes the dynamics of bacterial population growth in a closed system with controlled environmental conditions, such as temperature and nutrient availability. This curve is divided into four distinct phases: lag, log (exponential), stationary, and death phases, each reflecting a unique stage of bacterial adaptation and growth. During the lag phase, bacteria acclimate to their surroundings by synthesizing essential...
4.5K
Bacterial Transformation01:33

Bacterial Transformation

62.4K
In 1928, bacteriologist Frederick Griffith worked on a vaccine for pneumonia, which is caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteria. Griffith studied two pneumonia strains in mice: one pathogenic and one non-pathogenic. Only the pathogenic strain killed host mice.
Griffith made an unexpected discovery when he killed the pathogenic strain and mixed its remains with the live, non-pathogenic strain. Not only did the mixture kill host mice, but it also contained living pathogenic bacteria that...
62.4K

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Phase-contrast microtomography unveils mechanisms of root colonization by a vascular fungal pathogen.

Nature communications·2026
Same author

Beyond treatment: What patients and parents expect from care in PROS.

Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology : JEADV·2026
Same author

The evolution of genetic drift over 50,000 generations.

bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology·2026
Same author

Decreased cytoplasmic crowding via inhibition of ribosome biogenesis can trigger Candida albicans filamentous growth.

Nature microbiology·2025
Same author

Uncovering heterogeneous intercommunity disease transmission from neutral allele frequency time series.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·2025
Same author

Proportional modulation of proliferation and motility under 2D compressive stress depends on mesenchymal phenotype.

The European physical journal. E, Soft matter·2025
Same journal

Simple input-output dependencies explain neuronal activity.

Nature physics·2026
Same journal

Scaling and self-similarity in the formation of the embryonic epigenome.

Nature physics·2026
Same journal

Adhesion-driven rigidity transition decoupled from density-driven jamming triggers epithelial organization in embryonic tissues.

Nature physics·2026
Same journal

The local mechanostructural properties of protein cargoes regulate nucleocytoplasmic transport.

Nature physics·2026
Same journal

Squeezing, trisqueezing and quadsqueezing in a hybrid oscillator-spin system.

Nature physics·2026
Same journal

Noise-induced shallow circuits and the absence of barren plateaus.

Nature physics·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 14, 2026

Continuous Measurement of Biological Noise in Escherichia Coli Using Time-lapse Microscopy
08:25

Continuous Measurement of Biological Noise in Escherichia Coli Using Time-lapse Microscopy

Published on: April 27, 2021

4.2K

Self-Driven Jamming in Growing Microbial Populations.

Morgan Delarue1, Jörn Hartung2, Carl Schreck1

  • 1Departments of Physics and Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, USA.

Nature Physics
|September 20, 2016
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Microbial growth in confined spaces leads to self-driven jamming, generating significant pressure. This collective force mechanism impacts cell growth and the surrounding environment, influencing processes like pathogenesis and biofouling.

More Related Videos

Quantifying Bacterial Surface Swarming Motility on Inducer Gradient Plates
05:57

Quantifying Bacterial Surface Swarming Motility on Inducer Gradient Plates

Published on: January 5, 2022

4.4K
Assembly and Tracking of Microbial Community Development within a Microwell Array Platform
09:24

Assembly and Tracking of Microbial Community Development within a Microwell Array Platform

Published on: June 6, 2017

9.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Mar 14, 2026

Continuous Measurement of Biological Noise in Escherichia Coli Using Time-lapse Microscopy
08:25

Continuous Measurement of Biological Noise in Escherichia Coli Using Time-lapse Microscopy

Published on: April 27, 2021

4.2K
Quantifying Bacterial Surface Swarming Motility on Inducer Gradient Plates
05:57

Quantifying Bacterial Surface Swarming Motility on Inducer Gradient Plates

Published on: January 5, 2022

4.4K
Assembly and Tracking of Microbial Community Development within a Microwell Array Platform
09:24

Assembly and Tracking of Microbial Community Development within a Microwell Array Platform

Published on: June 6, 2017

9.7K

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Biophysics
  • Soft Matter Physics

Background:

  • Microbes in natural settings form dense populations, necessitating space for growth.
  • Cellular contact forces are crucial for biofilm formation, porous media colonization, and tissue invasion.
  • While single-cell forces are known, collective force generation remains poorly understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To reveal the collective mechanism of force generation in microbial populations.
  • To investigate how individual cell forces combine to create large-scale mechanical pressures.
  • To understand the implications of these pressures on microbial populations and their environment.

Main Methods:

  • Microfluidic experiments using budding yeast populations in confined environments.
  • Observation and analysis of force chain dynamics during microbial proliferation.
  • Extension of the driven granular matter framework to microbial systems.

Main Results:

  • Identified a mechanism termed 'self-driven jamming' in microbial populations.
  • Demonstrated that proliferation drives the formation and collapse of force chains, leading to high pressures.
  • Observed that these pressures can inhibit cell growth, delay the cell cycle, and damage the microenvironment.

Conclusions:

  • Self-driven jamming is a natural tendency of microbes in confined spaces.
  • The build-up of large mechanical pressures influences microbial population dynamics and interactions.
  • This phenomenon contributes to microbial pathogenesis and biofouling.