Programmable living assembly of materials by bacterial adhesion

Chen, Baizhu; Kang, Wenli; Sun, Jing; Zhu, Runtao; Xia, Aihua; Yu, Mei; Wang, Meng; Han, Jianming; Chen, Yixuan; Teng, Lijun; Tian, Qiong; Yu, Yancun; Li, Guanglin; Li, You; Liu, Zhiyuan; Dai, Zhuojun

doi:10.1038/s41589-021-00934-z

Cited by 52 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The findings illustrate the importance of interfacial mechanics to a comprehensive understanding of bacterial behavior and dynamics. Our results also provide a new strategy to control biofilm patterns in engineered living materials (40-47) and for directed self-assembly in active matter fluids (48-51).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Active bulging promotes biofilm formation in a bacterial swarm

Liu

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Microbial communities such as biofilms are commonly found at interfaces. However, it is unclear how the physical environment of interfaces may contribute to the development and behavior of surface-associated microbial communities. Combining multi-mode imaging, single-cell tracking and numerical simulations, here we discovered that an interfacial process denoted as "active bulging" promotes biofilm formation. During this process, an initially two-dimensional layer of swarming bacteria spontaneously develops scattered liquid bulges; the bulges have a higher propensity to transit from motile to sessile biofilm state, presumably due to the enrichment of pre-existing immotile cells in the colony. We further demonstrate that the formation of liquid bulges can be controlled reversibly by manipulating the speed and local density of cells with light. Our findings reveal a unique physical mechanism of biofilm formation and provide a new strategy for biofilm patterning in engineered living materials as well as for directed self-assembly in active fluids.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 84%

Active bulging promotes biofilm formation in a bacterial swarm

Liu

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…Upon receiving the signals, cells report on these external signals through natural or engineered genetic modules. The sensing outputs are usually fluorescence, bioluminescence, or conductivity in cells (Figure 11a), [11,46,190,191] and the collective cell expression in the hydrogel matrix can be further quantified in terms of light intensity or electrical resistance. [22,43,46] During the sensing process, signal transportation is coupled to biochemical reactions.…”

Section: Engineered Living Hydrogels For Sensingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engineered Living Hydrogels

et al. 2022

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Living biological systems, ranging from single cells to whole organisms, can sense, process information, and actuate in response to changing environmental conditions. Inspired by living biological systems, engineered living cells and nonliving matrices are brought together, which gives rise to the technology of engineered living materials. By designing the functionalities of living cells and the structures of nonliving matrices, engineered living materials can be created to detect variability in the surrounding environment and to adjust their functions accordingly, thereby enabling applications in health monitoring, disease treatment, and environmental remediation. Hydrogels, a class of soft, wet, and biocompatible materials, have been widely used as matrices for engineered living cells, leading to the nascent field of engineered living hydrogels. Here, the interactions between hydrogel matrices and engineered living cells are described, focusing on how hydrogels influence cell behaviors and how cells affect hydrogel properties. The interactions between engineered living hydrogels and their environments, and how these interactions enable versatile applications, are also discussed. Finally, current challenges facing the field of engineered living hydrogels for their applications in clinical and environmental settings are highlighted.

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“…Bacterial cellulose can be functionalized with enzymes to generate catalytic materials [64] or with growth factors for applications in tissue engineering [65]. Furthermore, the properties of ELMs, such as the ability to self-repair, viscoelasticity, and mechanical rigidity, can be further improved by programmable cell-cell adhesion [66].…”

Section: Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engineering synthetic spatial patterns in microbial populations and communities

Barbier¹,

Kusumawardhani²,

Schaerli³

2022

Preprint

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Spatial pattern formation is an important feature of almost all biological systems, including microbial communities. Thanks to the advances in synthetic biology, we can engineer microbial populations and communities to display sophisticated spatial patterns. This bottom-up approach can be used to elucidate general principles underlying pattern formation. Moreover, it is of interest for a plethora of applications, from the production of novel living materials to medical diagnostics. In this short review, we comment the recent experimental advances in engineering spatial patterns formed by microbes. We classify the synthetic patterns based on the input signals provided and the biological processes deployed. We highlight some applications of microbial pattern formation and discuss the challenges and potential future directions.

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Programmable living assembly of materials by bacterial adhesion

Cited by 52 publications

References 32 publications

Active bulging promotes biofilm formation in a bacterial swarm

Active bulging promotes biofilm formation in a bacterial swarm

Engineered Living Hydrogels

Engineering synthetic spatial patterns in microbial populations and communities

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