Pattern Engineering of Living Bacterial Colonies Using Meniscus-Driven Fluidic Channels.

Area of Science:

• Synthetic biology
• Biomaterials science
• Microfluidics

Background:

• Developing adaptive, sustainable, and dynamic biomaterials is a key goal in synthetic biology.
• Engineering spatially organized bacterial communities offers a promising route to creating novel biomaterials.
• Current methods for precise, robust, and low-barrier bacterial patterning remain a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an easily implementable technique for patterning live bacterial populations.
• To demonstrate the capability of this technique for creating multiscale bacterial patterns.
• To explore the potential of this method for advancing living materials and microbial interaction research.

Main Methods:

• Developed a controlled meniscus-driven fluidics system named MeniFluidics.
• Utilized faster bacterial spreading in liquid channels for controlled patterning.
• Applied MeniFluidics to pattern fluorescently labeled *Bacillus subtilis* strains.

Main Results:

• Achieved multiscale patterning of bacterial biofilm colonies and swarms with submillimeter resolution.
• Demonstrated controlled spatial and temporal organization of bacterial colonies.
• Created converged patterns and dynamic vortex patterns in confined bacterial swarms.

Conclusions:

• MeniFluidics provides a robust, accurate, and low-technical-barrier tool for bacterial patterning.
• This technique facilitates the advancement and invention of new living materials.
• Offers a valuable platform for fundamental research into microbial ecological, evolutionary, and physical interactions.