Lighting Up Bacteria: Riedel-Kruse and Jin’s New Technique Reveals How Biofilms Grow and Resist Antibiotics
Xizofan Jin, Assistant Professor at the Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, and Ingmar Riedel-Kruse, Associate Professor, Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, recently published a paper in Nature Communications, titled "Optogenetic patterning generates multi-strain biofilms with spatially distributed antibiotic resistance".
Their study introduces Multipattern Biofilm Lithography (MBL), a new technique that allows scientists to precisely control the spatial arrangement of bacterial communities using light. Biofilms, which are groups of bacteria that stick to surfaces and form protective layers, are common in nature and play important roles in medicine, industry, and the environment. Unlike free-floating bacteria, those in biofilms work together, share resources, and are more resistant to antibiotics. MBL mimics natural biofilm formation by using light to pattern where different bacterial strains grow. This enables researchers to study how bacteria interact, compete, and cooperate in structured environments, something that has been difficult to observe and measure before.
One key application of MBL is studying antibiotic resistance in biofilms. Some bacteria produce beta-lactamase, an enzyme that breaks down antibiotics like ampicillin, protecting not just themselves but also nearby bacteria. Using MBL, researchers created structured biofilms with regions of resistant and non-resistant bacteria to observe how antibiotic protection spreads. Their experiments, combined with computer modeling, provided a detailed picture of how bacteria in biofilms share resistance and how far this protection extends. These findings could improve our understanding of persistent infections, help develop new treatments, and lead to innovative bioengineering applications, such as designing bacteria that break down pollutants or produce useful chemicals.
