MSGID: 1:317/3 627201c0   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Bacteria make a beeline to escape tight spaces    
      
     Date:   
         May 3, 2022   
     Source:   
         University of Hawaii at Manoa   
     Summary:   
         A newly published study has revealed that bacteria alter their   
         swimming patterns when they get into tight spaces -- making a   
         beeline to escape from confinement.   
      
      
      
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   A newly published study by researchers at the University of Hawai'i at   
   Manoa revealed that bacteria alter their swimming patterns when they   
   get into tight spaces -- making a beeline to escape from confinement.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Nearly all organisms host bacteria that live symbiotically on or within   
   their bodies. The Hawaiian bobtail squid, Euprymna scolopes, forms   
   an exclusive symbiotic relationship with the marine bacterium Vibrio   
   fischeri which has a whip-like tail that it uses to swim to specific   
   places in the squid's body.   
      
   A research team, led by Jonathan Lynch, who was a postdoctoral fellow at   
   the Pacific Biosciences Research Center (PBRC) at the UH Manoa School   
   of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), designed controlled   
   chambers in which they could observe the Vibrio bacteria swimming. Using   
   microscopy, the team discovered that as the bacteria moved between open   
   areas and tight spaces they swim differently. Specifically, they change   
   their swimming behavior to avoid getting stuck in confined spaces.   
      
   "This finding was quite surprising," said Lynch, who is now a postdoctoral   
   fellow at the University of California, Los Angeles. "At first, we were   
   looking for how bacterial cells changed the shape of their tails when   
   they moved into tight spaces, but discovered that we were having trouble   
   actually finding cells in the tight spaces. After looking more closely,   
   we figured out that it was because the bacteria were actively swimming   
   out of the tight spaces, which we did not expect."  In open spaces,   
   without chemicals to be attracted to or repelled from, bacteria appeared   
   to meander with no discernible pattern -- changing direction randomly   
   and at different points in time. Upon entry into confined spaces, the   
   bacteria straightened their swimming paths to escape from confinement.   
      
   The relationship between the squid and this bacterium is a useful   
   model of how bacteria live with other animals, such as the human   
   microbiome. Microbes often traverse complicated routes, sometimes   
   squeezing through tight spaces in tissues, before colonizing preferred   
   sites in their host organism. A variety of chemicals and nutrients   
   within hosts are known to guide bacteria toward their eventual   
   destination. However, less is known about how physical features like   
   walls, corners, and tight spaces affect bacterial swimming, despite the   
   fact that these physical features are found across many bacteria-animal   
   relationships.   
      
   "Our findings demonstrate that tight spaces may serve as an additional,   
   crucial cue for bacteria while they navigate complex environments to   
   enter specific habitats," said Lynch. "Changing swimming patterns in tight   
   spaces may allow some bacteria to quickly swim through the tight spaces to   
   get to the other side, but for the others, they turn around before the get   
   stuck -- kind of like choosing whether to run across a rickety bridge or   
   turn around before you go too far."  In the future, the researchers hope   
   to figure out how these bacteria are changing their swimming activity,   
   as well as determining if other bacteria show the same behaviors.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided   
   by University_of_Hawaii_at_Manoa. Original written by Marcie   
   Grabowski. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Jonathan B. Lynch, Nicholas James, Margaret McFall-Ngai, Edward   
      G. Ruby,   
         Sangwoo Shin, Daisuke Takagi. Transitioning to confined spaces   
         impacts bacterial swimming and escape response. Biophysical Journal,   
         2022; DOI: 10.1016/j.bpj.2022.04.008   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220503083119.htm   
      
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