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Sociomicrobiology in engineered landscapes

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A growing body of evidence points to the importance of microcolonies in the dissemination of bacteria, yet there is a dearth of tools for systematically assessing the behavior of cells within such communities. New strategies for landscaping three-dimensional culture environments on microscopic scales may have a critical role in revealing how bacteria orchestrate antibiotic resistance and other social behaviors within small, dense aggregates.

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Figure 1: Ideal qualities for patterning bacterial populations in microfabricated environments.
Figure 2: Assessing bacterial behavior in protein-based microstructures.
Figure 3: Complex polymicrobial arrangements.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the US National Institutes of Health (5R01AI075068 to M.W.; 5R03AI081216 to J.B.S.) and the Welch Foundation (grant F-1331 to J.B.S.).

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Author notes

  1. Marvin Whiteley is in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA, and the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jodi L. Connell and Jason B. Shear are in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA, and the Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA.,

    Jodi L Connell, Marvin Whiteley & Jason B Shear

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  1. Jodi L Connell
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  2. Marvin Whiteley
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Correspondence to Marvin Whiteley or Jason B Shear.

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Connell, J., Whiteley, M. & Shear, J. Sociomicrobiology in engineered landscapes. Nat Chem Biol 8, 10–13 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.749

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