Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: The bacterium Myxococcus xanthus produces multicellular droplets called fruiting bodies when starved. These structures form initially through the active dewetting of a vegetative biofilm into surface-associated droplets. This motility-driven aggregation is succeeded by a primitive developmental process in which cells in the droplets mature into nonmotile spores. Here, we use atomic force microscopy to probe the mechanics of these droplets throughout their formation. Using a combination of time- and frequency-domain rheological experiments, we characterize and develop a simple model of the linear viscoelasticity of these aggregates. We then use this model to quantify how cellular behaviors predominant at different developmental times-motility during the dewetting phase and cellular sporulation during later development-manifest as decreased droplet viscosity and increased elasticity, respectively.
Source: Physical Review Letters
Authors: Matthew E. Black, Joshua W. Shaevitz
Institution: Princeton University
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $3,750
Funder: National Science Foundation
OpenAlex ID: W3217227423