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Smectic-like bundle formation of planktonic bacteria upon nutrient starvation
Takuro Shimaya1, Fumiaki Yokoyama1, Kazumasa A Takeuchi1,2,3
1Department of Physics, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan. kat@kaztake.org.
Soft Matter
|March 24, 2025
Summary
Nutrient starvation causes bacteria like Escherichia coli to form ordered, bundle-shaped clusters. This collective behavior, resembling liquid crystals, may be common in harsh environments.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Biophysics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Bacteria form biofilms through intercellular interactions.
- The impact of environmental shifts on bacterial aggregation is understudied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the collective response of bacterial aggregates to dynamic environmental changes.
- To understand the mechanisms behind bacterial cell arrangement during nutrient starvation.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a novel experimental device for observing bacterial aggregates.
- Employed a deep learning approach to quantify the order of bacterial bundles.
- Studied Escherichia coli under dynamic growth conditions, including nutrient starvation.
Main Results:
- Observed that nutrient starvation induces bacterial cells to form bundle-shaped clusters.
- Identified a structure in bacterial aggregates analogous to smectic liquid crystals.
- Determined that depletion attraction and growth arrest are crucial for bundle formation.
Conclusions:
- Bacterial bundle formation under nutrient starvation exhibits liquid crystal-like order.
- This collective behavior is potentially widespread across bacterial species in stressful conditions.
- Extracellular polymeric substances and growth arrest are key drivers of this phenomenon.
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