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Related Concept Videos

Factors Influencing Microbial Growth: Temperature01:27

Factors Influencing Microbial Growth: Temperature

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Microorganisms display remarkable adaptations, enabling them to thrive in diverse ecological niches across a wide range of temperatures. Temperature profoundly influences microbial growth by affecting enzymatic activity, membrane fluidity, and other cellular processes.Each microorganism operates within a specific temperature range defined by three cardinal points: minimum, optimum, and maximum. Below the minimum temperature, membranes lose fluidity, halting transport processes. Above the...
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Physical Methods for Controlling Microbial Growth: Temperature01:23

Physical Methods for Controlling Microbial Growth: Temperature

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Heat is a widely used method to control microbial growth by targeting and denaturing cellular proteins, thereby killing or inactivating microbes. This method's effectiveness is quantified using parameters such as the thermal death point (TDP), thermal death time (TDT), and decimal reduction time (D value). TDP represents the lowest temperature at which all microorganisms in a liquid suspension are eliminated within 10 minutes, whereas TDT is the time necessary to achieve sterilization at a...
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Viscosity01:17

Viscosity

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When water is poured into a glass, it falls freely and quickly, whereas if honey or maple syrup is poured over a pancake, it flows slowly and sticks to the surface of the container. This difference in the flow of different kinds of liquids arises due to the fluid friction between the liquid layers and the liquid and the surrounding material. This property of fluids is called fluid viscosity. In this example, water has a lower viscosity than honey and maple syrup.
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Factors Influencing Microbial Growth: Osmolarity01:28

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Osmolarity is the measure of solute concentration in a solution. It plays a critical role in determining water availability for organisms. Water moves across semipermeable membranes through osmosis, flowing from regions of lower solute concentration (more dilute) to regions of higher solute concentration (more concentrated).In high-solute environments, microbial cells lose water, leading to dehydration and inhibited growth. The extent to which water is available to microbes in such environments...
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Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing01:28

Gene Regulation in Microbial Communities: Quorum Sensing

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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,...
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Factors Influencing Microbial Growth: pH01:29

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Microorganisms are classified as acidophiles, neutrophiles, or alkaliphiles based on their pH growth preferences, reflecting their adaptations to specific environments. Maintaining a stable intracellular pH is critical for macromolecular stability and enzymatic activity, which can be challenged by external pH variations.Neutrophiles, such as Escherichia coli, grow optimally between pH 5.5 and 8.0. These microorganisms inhabit neutral or slightly acidic environments and employ mechanisms like...
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Kinetic Visualization of Single-Cell Interspecies Bacterial Interactions
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Environmental Viscosity Modulates Interbacterial Killing during Habitat Transition.

Lauren Speare1, Stephanie Smith1, Fernanda Salvato2

  • 1Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.

Mbio
|February 6, 2020
PubMed
Summary

Environmental viscosity regulates bacterial competition. Vibrio fischeri activates its type VI secretion system (T6SS) in high-viscosity, host-like environments, enhancing bacterial killing and aggregation for colonization.

Keywords:
Aliivibrio fischeriaggregationcompetitionproteomicstype VI secretion

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Quantification of Interbacterial Competition using Single-Cell Fluorescence Imaging
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Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Symbiotic Interactions
  • Bacterial Competition

Background:

  • Bacteria employ diverse strategies to compete for host colonization sites.
  • Environmental cues modulating interbacterial competition during lifestyle transitions are poorly understood.
  • The mutualistic symbiosis between *Eupyrmna scolopes* squid and *Vibrio fischeri* serves as a model system.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how environmental viscosity impacts intraspecific competition in *Vibrio fischeri*.
  • To understand the regulation of the type VI secretion system (T6SS) during the transition from seawater to a host-like environment.
  • To explore the role of physical environmental cues in bacterial competitive mechanisms.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized a liquid hydrogel medium to mimic the viscous host environment.
  • Assessed T6SS expression, sheath formation, and T6SS-mediated killing.
  • Employed mass spectrometry-based proteomics to identify cellular preparation mechanisms.

Main Results:

  • The T6SS was functionally inactive in low-viscosity, seawater-like conditions.
  • Exposure to high-viscosity hydrogel enhanced TSS expression, sheath formation, and TSS-mediated killing within 30 minutes.
  • High viscosity promoted coaggregation of competing *V. fischeri* genotypes, facilitating cell-cell contact for competition.

Conclusions:

  • *Vibrio fischeri* rapidly responds to environmental viscosity to activate competitive mechanisms.
  • Environmental viscosity is a critical cue regulating T6SS-mediated bacterial competition during host colonization.
  • The study establishes a novel hydrogel culture system for investigating T6SS interactions.