Biofilm bacteria spreads by building a transport network out of DNA

The following is an edited excerpt.

Bacteria in slimy biofilms are able to spread rapidly over surfaces such as catheters by building a transport network with DNA for tracks, say Australian researchers.

The researchers used a technique called high-resolution phase-contrast time-lapse microscopy to track the movement of thousands of individual bacterial cells on computer. Atomic force microscopy revealed that the advancing bacteria were forging furrows, which constituted the edges of the network.

Fluorescence microscopy revealed that DNA excreted by the bacteria provided the network “tracks” that organized the flow of bacterial traffic.

Read the full story here: Secrets of trail-blazing bacteria revealed

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