Causes and consequences of phenotypic subpopulation formation during bacterial biofilm development
Research Project
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01.03.2023
- 29.02.2028
Biofilms are surface-bound spatially structured microbial communities, which are now considered to be the most abundant form of bacterial life on Earth. For many microbial commensals and pathogens, biofilm formation is an essential part of their lifecycle, so that biofilms are ubiquitous in soil, in aqueous environments, and on surfaces presented by plants and animals. The aim of this project is to determine the principles and mechanisms that govern the formation of subpopulations in biofilms. This will be achieved by comprehensively identifying subpopulations during the growth of biofilms from a single cell into a macrocolony, followed by determining the mechanisms that underlie the formation of subpopulations. Furthermore, we will comprehensively characterize the subpopulations and their properties. My interdisciplinary research group is in a unique position to perform the proposed work on biofilm subpopulations, due to our previous development of single-cell imaging and image analysis techniques for biofilms, due to our existing computational data analysis and simulation techniques, and due to our expertise in basic molecular microbiology and biofilm research. Together, this expertise allows my group to identify all subpopulations, and to determine how the subpopulations develop, respond to stresses, and contribute to the properties of the whole biofilm population. Ultimately, the proposed project will result in a comprehensive mechanistic understanding of phenotypic subpopulations during biofilm development.
