BPoD has moved!

BPoD has recently changed our domain name - we can now be found at bpod.org.uk

Please update your bookmarks!

Now in our 13th year of bringing you beautiful imagery from biomedical science every day

Search the archive of over 4000 images

Focus on Films - II Brute-force Biofilms

Insight in to the mechanics of biofilms – bacteria in a multicellular layer – suggests a new mode of infection

17 November 2020

Brute-force Biofilms

When bacteria band together to form near-impenetrable barriers called biofilms, treating infection becomes much harder. The biochemical side of biofilms is well-studied but less is known about the mechanical forces at work. Here a team investigated the forces created by biofilms of two bacteria — Vibrio cholerae which causes cholera and Pseudomonas aeruginosa which causes pneumonia. The bacteria were grown on hydrogels, artificial substances that mimic the softness of natural tissues. Measuring changes in the dimensions of the hydrogels allowed them to determine the forces generated by the biofilms. The biofilms buckled and transmitted these forces to the underlying hydrogels, as captured visually using fluorescence microscopy of the bacteria (green) grown on hydrogel (pink), with deformations at their core where the buckling occurred (black). Growing biofilms on epithelial cells revealed that the forces generated were enough to disrupt the layer of cells. These insights could therefore have implications for infection.

Written by Lux Fatimathas

Search The Archive

Submit An Image

Follow on Tumblr

Follow on Instagram

What is BPoD?

BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

Read More

BPoD is also available in Catalan at www.bpod.cat with translations by the University of Valencia.