Structural studies of bacterial biofilm matrix fibres

地球上的大多数细菌存在于称为生物膜的多细胞组件中，其中细胞嵌入自我分泌的聚合物基质中。在分子水平上对生物膜基质知之甚少，细胞如何被束缚在生物膜基质中仍然是个谜。本项目的目的是阐明革兰氏阳性模式生物枯草芽孢杆菌和革兰氏阴性细菌铜绿假单胞菌中纤维介导的粘附的结构基础。因此，我使用电子冷冻显微镜在体外重建和隔离系统，结合电子断层扫描的细胞和生物膜，研究基质纤维在生物膜功能的作用。我进一步开发技术，以提高通过断层重建获得的信息，并将其应用于研究细菌系统，既揭示了细菌生物学的基本方面，也开发了广泛适用于其他系统的成像方法。

Most bacteria on earth exist in multi-cellular assemblies called biofilms, in which cells are embedded in a self-secreted polymeric matrix. Little is known at the molecular level about the biofilm matrix, and how cells are tethered within the biofilm matrix remains enigmatic. The aim of this project is to unravel the structural basis of fibre-mediated adhesion in the gram-positive model organism Bacillus subtilis and the gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Therefore, I use electron cryomicroscopy of in vitro reconstituted and isolated systems, combined with electron tomography of cells and biofilms, to study the roles of matrix fibres in biofilm function. I furthermore develop techniques to enhance the information obtained through tomographic reconstruction and apply them to study bacterial systems, both revealing fundamental aspects of bacterial biology as well as developing imaging methods that are widely applicable to other systems.