Spirochete coordination of adhesion and motility in the presence of fluid shear forces

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Spirochetes are highly motile helical or planar wave-form bacteria whose motility is thought to depend on adhesion to components of the extracellular environment. However, if motility is dependent on adhesion, then adhesion complexes must be dynamic for spirochete movement to occur. Spirochetes must also coordinate motility and adhesion in the presence of fluid shear forces, which can disrupt bacterial adhesion and migration on surfaces in the natural environment, and could alter both the motile and adhesive properties of these bacteria. The properties and mechanisms underlying dynamic coordination of spirochete adhesion and motility in the presence of fluid shear forces are not yet defined. Early efforts to investigate the relationship between spirochete motility and adhesion were impeded by the inability to disrupt these functions genetically and the absence of appropriate dynamic live cell observation and labelling methods. Recent advances finally permit investigation of the dynamic coordination of motility and adhesion in a living spirochete, the Lyme disease pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb). The overall objective of my research program is to investigate the fundamental properties and mechanisms underlying coordination of adhesion and motility in Bb subjected to fluid shear forces. My short-term objective is to use live cell imaging approaches to define the dynamic relationship between spirochete motility and adhesion, and the effect of fluid shear forces on these functions. My long-term objective is to develop appropriate methodologies for investigating the biophysical properties and mechanisms coordinating Bb adhesion and motility under fluid shear forces. These studies will provide the first dynamic insight into mechanisms coordinating motility and adhesion in spirochetes, and the effect of fluid shear forces on these processes.