@article{84256,
  keywords = {hydrodynamics, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacterial Physiological Phenomena, Plant Diseases, Plant Vascular Bundle, Tobacco},
  author = {Albert Siryaporn and Minyoung Kevin Kim and Yi Shen and Howard Stone and Zemer Gitai},
  title = {Colonization, competition, and dispersal of pathogens in fluid flow networks.},
  abstract = {<p>The colonization of bacteria in complex fluid flow networks, such as those found in host vasculature, remains poorly understood. Recently, it was reported that many bacteria, including Bacillus subtilis [1], Escherichia coli [2], and Pseudomonas aeruginosa [3, 4], can move in the opposite direction of fluid flow. Upstream movement results from the interplay between fluid shear stress and bacterial motility structures, and such rheotactic-like behavior is predicted to occur for a wide range of conditions [1]. Given the potential ubiquity of upstream movement, its impact on population-level behaviors within hosts could be significant. Here, we find that P. aeruginosa communities use a diverse set of motility strategies, including a novel surface-motility mechanism characterized by counter-advection and transverse diffusion, to rapidly disperse throughout vasculature-like flow networks. These motility modalities give P. aeruginosa a selective growth advantage, enabling it to self-segregate from other human pathogens such as Proteus mirabilis and Staphylococcus aureus that outcompete P. aeruginosa in well-mixed non-flow environments. We develop a quantitative model of bacterial colonization in flow networks, confirm our model in vivo in plant vasculature, and validate a key prediction that colonization and dispersal can be inhibited by modifying surface chemistry. Our results show that the interaction between flow mechanics and motility structures shapes the formation of mixed-species communities and suggest a general mechanism by which bacteria could colonize hosts. Furthermore, our results suggest novel strategies for tuning the composition of multi-species bacterial communities in hosts, preventing inappropriate colonization in medical devices, and combatting bacterial infections.</p>
},
  year = {2015},
  journal = {Curr Biol},
  volume = {25},
  pages = {1201-7},
  month = {05/2015},
  issn = {1879-0445},
  doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2015.02.074},
  language = {eng},
}