Bacteria-in-paper, a versatile platform to study bacterial ecology

Felix J.H. Hol*, George M. Whitesides, Cees Dekker

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)
65 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Habitat spatial structure has a profound influence on bacterial life, yet there currently are no low-cost equipment-free laboratory techniques to reproduce the intricate structure of natural bacterial habitats. Here, we demonstrate the use of paper scaffolds to create landscapes spatially structured at the scales relevant to bacterial ecology. In paper scaffolds, planktonic bacteria migrate through liquid-filled pores, while the paper’s cellulose fibres serve as anchor points for sessile colonies (biofilms). Using this novel approach, we explore bacterial colonisation dynamics in different landscape topographies and characterise the community composition of Escherichia coli strains undergoing centimetre-scale range expansions in habitats structured at the micrometre scale. The bacteria-in-paper platform enables quantitative assessment of bacterial community dynamics in complex environments using everyday materials.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1316-1323
Number of pages8
JournalEcology Letters
Volume22
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Bacteria
  • colonisation
  • dendritic networks
  • experimental tools
  • habitat structure
  • microfabrication
  • paper
  • population dynamics
  • range expansion
  • spatial structure

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