Fractal patterns in a Bacillus subtilis biofilm, LM

  • Fernán Federici
  • Digital Images
  • Online

Selected images from this work

View 1 image

About this work

Description

Confocal micrograph of fractal patterns self-organised in a Bacillus subtilis biofilm. Bacillus subtilis is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium commonly found in soil. Populations of different lineages of B. subtilis each express a different fluorescent protein: sfGFP (green), mKate2 (red) or mTurquoise2 (blue). Fractal features arise from local mechanical instabilities produced during uniaxial growth and division of rod-shaped bacteria. This image was used to study self-organisation and emergence of morphological features in cell populations. Understanding how bacterial biofilms form is a key step in the fight against bacterial infections. Image created in collaboration with T. Rudge, P. Steiner, A. Kan and J. Haseloff. Width of image is 0.75 mm.

Contributors

Permanent link