Bacterial biofilms as shelf-shaping active materials

Biofilms, surface???€š??attached communities of bacterial cells, are a concern in health and in industrial operations because of persistent infections, clogging of flows, and surface fouling. On the other hand, biofilms also display many interesting features as self-shaping and self-organizing materials. In this talk, I will discuss about our recent progress in using Vibrio cholerae as a model biofilm former to reveal the biophysical principles behind biofilm formation, in particular in confined environment, both at the single cell level and at the continuum level. More broadly, our findings provide new framework to understand how confined cell communities grow by means of a compromise between their inherent developmental program and the mechanical constraints imposed by the environment. Bacterial biofilms as shelf-shaping active materials Jing Yan Yale