A unique self-organization of bacterial sub-communities creates iridescence in Cellulophaga lytica colony biofilms.
Kientz, B; Luke, S; Vukusic, P; et al.Péteri, R; Beaudry, C; Renault, T; Simon, D; Mignot, T; Rosenfeld, E
Date: 28 January 2016
Article
Journal
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group: Open Access Journals - Option C
Publisher DOI
Abstract
Iridescent color appearances are widespread in nature. They arise from the interaction of light with micron- and submicron-sized physical structures spatially arranged with periodic geometry and are usually associated with bright angle-dependent hues. Iridescence has been reported for many animals and marine organisms. However, iridescence ...
Iridescent color appearances are widespread in nature. They arise from the interaction of light with micron- and submicron-sized physical structures spatially arranged with periodic geometry and are usually associated with bright angle-dependent hues. Iridescence has been reported for many animals and marine organisms. However, iridescence has not been well studied in bacteria. Recently, we reported a brilliant "pointillistic" iridescence in colony biofilms of marine Flavobacteria that exhibit gliding motility. The mechanism of their iridescence is unknown. Here, using a multi-disciplinary approach, we show that the cause of iridescence is a unique periodicity of the cell population in the colony biofilm. Cells are arranged together to form hexagonal photonic crystals. Our model highlights a novel pattern of self-organization in a bacterial biofilm. "Pointillistic" bacterial iridescence can be considered a new light-dependent phenomenon for the field of microbiology.
Physics and Astronomy
Faculty of Environment, Science and Economy
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