Phages Form Liquid Crystals, Shaping P. aeruginosa Biofilms

Abstract

Through a novel mechanism, bacteriophage particles link with the surfaces of Pseudomonas aeruginosa cells and other nearby polymers to form tenacious biofilms, including those that form within the lungs of cystic fibrosis (CF) patients, according to Paul Bollyky of Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., who spoke during the Bay Area Microbial Pathogenesis Symposium last March in San Francisco. Bacteriophage that reproduce within P. aeruginosa are released and can assemble into liquid crystal structures that surround and protect these bacteria as part of larger biofilms, according to Bollyky, Patrick Secor, William Parks, and their collaborators. Details describing some of this research appeared November 11, 2015 in Cell Host & Microbe (doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2015.10.013).