Yan Lab published in Nature Communications

How do bacterial cells recognize each other and stick together to form a community? To answer this question, the Yan lab used a combination of genetics, microscopy, simulations, and biochemical analyses to uncover how Vibrio cholerae—the bacterium responsible for cholera—first builds and then breaks its biofilms apart. We showed that biofilm-dwelling cells are first held together by a sticky matrix made of exopolysaccharide matrix proteins. As the biofilm ages, bacteria remodel their surface to flip the cell-matrix interactions from attractive to repulsive. This smart strategy helps the bacteria disperse as groups, ready to colonize new environments. Led by postdoctoral researcher Alexis Moreau in the Yan Lab, this work is published in Nat. Commun. and selected as Editor’s choice.