Swarming and complex pattern formation in Paenibacillus vortex studied by imaging and tracking cells

100Citations
Citations of this article
176Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

Background. Swarming motility allows microorganisms to move rapidly over surfaces. The Gram-positive bacterium Paenibacillus vortex exhibits advanced cooperative motility on agar plates resulting in intricate colonial patterns with geometries that are highly sensitive to the environment. The cellular mechanisms that underpin the complex multicellular organization of such a simple organism are not well understood. Results. Swarming by P. vortex was studied by real-time light microscopy, by in situ scanning electron microscopy and by tracking the spread of antibiotic-resistant cells within antibiotic-sensitive colonies. When swarming, P. vortex was found to be peritrichously flagellated. Swarming by the curved cells of P. vortex occurred on an extremely wide range of media and agar concentrations (0.3 to 2.2% w/v). At high agar concentrations (> 1% w/v) rotating colonies formed that could be detached from the main mass of cells by withdrawal of cells into the latter. On lower percentage agars, cells moved in an extended network composed of interconnected "snakes" with short-term collision avoidance and sensitivity to extracts from swarming cells. P. vortex formed single Petri dish-wide "supercolonies" with a colony-wide exchange of motile cells. Swarming cells were coupled by rapidly forming, reversible and non-rigid connections to form a loose raft, apparently connected via flagella. Inhibitors of swarming (p-Nitrophenylglycerol and Congo Red) were identified. Mitomycin C was used to trigger filamentation without inhibiting growth or swarming; this facilitated dissection of the detail of swarming. Mitomycin C treatment resulted in malcoordinated swarming and abortive side branch formation and a strong tendency by a subpopulation of the cells to form minimal rotating aggregates of only a few cells. Conclusion. P. vortex creates complex macroscopic colonies within which there is considerable reflux and movement and interaction of cells. Cell shape, flagellation, the aversion of cell masses to fuse and temporary connections between proximate cells to form rafts were all features of the swarming and rotation of cell aggregates. Vigorous vortex formation was social, i.e. required > 1 cell. This is the first detailed examination of the swarming behaviour of this bacterium at the cellular level. © 2008 Ingham and Jacob; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

References Powered by Scopus

Bacterial Motility on a Surface: Many Ways to a Common Goal

761Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Communication among oral bacteria

729Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Thinking about bacterial populations as multicellular organisms

702Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Cited by Powered by Scopus

A field guide to bacterial swarming motility

1057Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Oxytocin pathways and the evolution of human behavior

480Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Comparative fecal metagenomics unveils unique functional capacity of the swine gut

316Citations
N/AReaders
Get full text

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Ingham, C. J., & Jacob, E. B. (2008). Swarming and complex pattern formation in Paenibacillus vortex studied by imaging and tracking cells. BMC Microbiology, 8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2180-8-36

Readers' Seniority

Tooltip

PhD / Post grad / Masters / Doc 80

66%

Researcher 24

20%

Professor / Associate Prof. 14

12%

Lecturer / Post doc 3

2%

Readers' Discipline

Tooltip

Agricultural and Biological Sciences 58

54%

Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Bi... 19

18%

Physics and Astronomy 17

16%

Engineering 13

12%

Article Metrics

Tooltip
Mentions
References: 2

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free