Probing bacteria-surface interactions via organella adhesion

Biofilm is an accumulation of microbes on surfaces. The first step of biofilm formation involves bacterial cells adhesion to the surface and is critical for their survival under changing environments. The mechanism of attachment is mediated by extracellular organelles: flagella and pili. Due to its size, the investigation of flagella involvements in the attachment to the substrate is more clear compared to pili. Here, we present the adhesion of organelles of single bacterial cell to different surfaces. To study the various interactions involved in the process we used functionalized self-assembled monolayers coatings. Using atomic force microscopy (AFM) we obtained high resolution images, consisting of data that can be interpreted to provide information on elasticity and adhesion of bacterial cell to the surface.

Fig 1. AFM height and adhesion images of E. coli bacteria cell on -CH₃ functionalized surface.