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Biomolecules
Special Issues
Molecular Mechanisms of Bacterial Multicellularity
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Molecular Mechanisms of Bacterial Multicellularity

A special issue of Biomolecules (ISSN 2218-273X). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 5297

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Salim Timo Islam

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (INRS), Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Institut Pasteur International Network, Laval, QC, Canada
Interests: substratum interactions; polysaccharide production; outer-membrane dynamics; cellular recognition

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bacteria were long regarded as simple unicellular creatures until the publication of James Shapiro’s revelatory discussion on bacterial multicellularity in 1988. Since then, our understanding of the complexities of prokaryotic existence has improved immeasurably, revealing fascinating facets of multicellular bacterial physiology. These include traits typically associated with metazoan organisms such as cellular specialization, morphological differentiation, and the formation of higher-order structures (such as bacterial filaments, biofilms, and fruiting bodies). Multicellular lifestyles thus confer a range of benefits to bacteria including better nutrient acquisition and community expansion as well as resistance to stress and predation.

The aim of this Special Issue is to provide a forum for the latest research on the diverse biomolecules (e.g., biochemical compounds, polysaccharides, lipids, proteins, and nucleotides) that modulate multicellular physiology in bacteria. Original research articles and review articles are welcome. The collected works in this Special Issue will thus help researchers explore the rich variety of ways in which bacterial communities function as more than simply the sum of their parts.

Prof. Salim Timo Islam
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomolecules is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biofilm formation
  • fruiting body formation
  • filamentation
  • cellular specialization
  • morphological differentiation
  • quorum sensing
  • extracellular matrix
  • polysaccharide secretion
  • cell-cell interactions proteins
  • lipids
  • nucleotides
  • signaling molecules

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1812 KiB  
Article
Bacterial Glycocalyx Integrity Impacts Tolerance of Myxococcus xanthus to Antibiotics and Oxidative-Stress Agents
by Fares Saïdi, Razieh Bitazar, Nicholas Y. Bradette and Salim T. Islam
Biomolecules 2022, 12(4), 571; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom12040571 - 12 Apr 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2221
Abstract
The presence of an exopolysaccharide (EPS) layer surrounding bacterial cells, termed a “glycocalyx”, confers protection against toxic molecules. However, the effect of glycocalyx integrity on the tolerance to such agents is poorly understood. Using a modified disc-diffusion assay, we tested the susceptibility to [...] Read more.
The presence of an exopolysaccharide (EPS) layer surrounding bacterial cells, termed a “glycocalyx”, confers protection against toxic molecules. However, the effect of glycocalyx integrity on the tolerance to such agents is poorly understood. Using a modified disc-diffusion assay, we tested the susceptibility to a panel of antibiotics and oxidative stress-inducing compounds of various mutant strains of the social predatory Gram-negative soil bacterium Myxococcus xanthus; the selected mutants were those that manifest different physical states of their respective EPS glycocalyces. While the overall presence of an EPS layer was indeed beneficial for tolerance, the integrity of this layer was also found to affect the susceptibility of the bacterium to killing; however, this finding was not universal, and instead was dependent on the specific compound tested. Thus, the integrity of the cell-surface EPS glycocalyx plays an important role in the tolerance of M. xanthus to harmful compounds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Mechanisms of Bacterial Multicellularity)
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12 pages, 1521 KiB  
Article
Use of Alternative Gelling Agents Reveals the Role of Rhamnolipids in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Surface Motility
by Charles D. Morin and Eric Déziel
Biomolecules 2021, 11(10), 1468; https://doi.org/10.3390/biom11101468 - 06 Oct 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2415
Abstract
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a motile bacterium able to exhibit a social surface behaviour known as swarming motility. Swarming requires the polar flagellum of P. aeruginosa as well as the secretion of wetting agents to ease the spread across the surface. However, our knowledge [...] Read more.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a motile bacterium able to exhibit a social surface behaviour known as swarming motility. Swarming requires the polar flagellum of P. aeruginosa as well as the secretion of wetting agents to ease the spread across the surface. However, our knowledge on swarming is limited to observed phenotypes on agar-solidified media. To study the surface behaviour and the impact of wetting agents of P. aeruginosa on other surfaces, we assessed surface motility capabilities of the prototypical strain PA14 on semi-solid media solidified with alternative gelling agents, gellan gum and carrageenan. We found that, on these alternative surfaces, the characteristic dendritic spreading pattern of P. aeruginosa is drastically altered. One striking feature is the loss of dependence on rhamnolipids to spread effectively on plates solidified with these alternative gelling agents. Indeed, a rhlA-null mutant unable to produce its wetting agents still spreads effectively, albeit in a circular shape on both the gellan gum- and carrageenan-based media. Our data indicate that rhamnolipids do not have such a crucial role in achieving surface colonization of non-agar plates, suggesting a strong dependence on the physical properties of the tested surface. The use of alternative gelling agent provides new means to reveal unknown features of bacterial surface behaviour. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Mechanisms of Bacterial Multicellularity)
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