Elasticity and wrinkled morphology of Bacillus subtilis pellicles

Wrinkled morphology is a distinctive phenotype observed in mature biofilms produced by a great number of bacteria. Here we study the formation of macroscopic structures (wrinkles and folds) observed during the maturation of Bacillus subtilis pellicles in relation to their mechanical response. We sho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2013-02, Vol.110 (6), p.2011-2016
Main Authors: Trejo, Miguel, Douarche, Carine, Bailleux, Virginie, Poulard, Christophe, Mariot, Sandrine, Regeard, Christophe, Raspaud, Eric
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacillus subtilis
Bacillus subtilis - cytology
Bacillus subtilis - growth & development
Bacillus subtilis - physiology
Bacteria
Bacteriology
Biofilms
Biofilms - growth & development
Biological Sciences
Biomass
Biomechanical Phenomena
Biomechanics
Buckling
Compressive stress
Condensed Matter
Elastic plates
Elasticity
Genotype & phenotype
Image analysis
Life Sciences
Liquids
Mathematical Concepts
Mechanics
Microbiology and Parasitology
Models, Biological
Morphology
Phenotype
Physical Sciences
Physics
Residual stress
Soft Condensed Matter
Structural strain
Wavelengths
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Summary:Wrinkled morphology is a distinctive phenotype observed in mature biofilms produced by a great number of bacteria. Here we study the formation of macroscopic structures (wrinkles and folds) observed during the maturation of Bacillus subtilis pellicles in relation to their mechanical response. We show how the mechanical buckling instability can explain their formation. By performing simple tests, we highlight the role of confining geometry and growth in determining the symmetry of wrinkles. We also experimentally demonstrate that the pellicles are soft elastic materials for small deformations induced by a tensile device. The wrinkled structures are then described by using the equations of elastic plates, which include the growth process as a simple parameter representing biomass production. This growth controls buckling instability, which triggers the formation of wrinkles. We also describe how the structure of ripples is modified when capillary effects are dominant. Finally, the experiments performed on a mutant strain indicate that the presence of an extracellular matrix is required to maintain a connective and elastic pellicle.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1217178110