Multicellular self-organization of P. aeruginosa due to interactions with secreted trails

TL;DR

This study investigates how P. aeruginosa bacteria self-organize into microcolonies through trail-guided movement, combining experimental observations with a stochastic model to explain their surface exploration behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a stochastic model linking trail interactions to bacterial self-organization, validated by experimental trajectory analysis.

Findings

Bacteria follow a power law exploration strategy.

The model accurately predicts collective behavior.

Trail interactions significantly influence microcolony formation.

Abstract

Guided movement in response to slowly diffusing polymeric trails provides a unique mechanism for self-organization of some microorganisms. To elucidate how this signaling route leads to microcolony formation, we experimentally probe the trajectory and orientation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa that propel themselves on a surface using type IV pili motility appendages, which preferentially attach to deposited exopolysaccharides. We construct a stochastic model by analyzing single-bacterium trajectories, and show that the resulting theoretical prediction for the many-body behavior of the bacteria is in quantitative agreement with our experimental characterization of how cells explore the surface via a power law strategy.