Molecular Architecture and Assembly Principles of <i>Vibrio cholerae</i> Biofilms

Biofilms Up Close Many bacterial infections involve biofilm formation. Cells within a biofilm are significantly more resistant to immune clearance and antibiotics compared to unattached, planktonic cells. Berk et al. (p. 236 ) applied superresolution optical methods to image living bacteria with nanometer-scale precision as they form a biofilm. Vibrio cholerae biofilms were observed to have three distinct levels of spatial organization: cells, clusters of cells, and collections of clusters. Each cell cluster was wrapped in a flexible, elastic envelope. Several V. cholerae matrix proteins played complementary architectural roles during biofilm development. RbmA provided cell-cell adhesion, Bap1 allowed the developing biofilm to adhere to surfaces, and heterogeneous mixtures of VPS, RbmC, and Bap1 formed the dynamic, flexible, and ordered envelopes that encase the cell clusters.