Name: quantifying bacterial surface swarming motility on inducer gradient plates
Uploaded: 2022-01-05T13:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Quantifying Bacterial Surface Swarming Motility on Inducer Gradient Plates at JoVE.com

The development of this technique was supported by the funds from the Ministry of Science and Technology&#39;s National Key R&#38;D plan (2018YFA0902604), National Natural Science Foundation of China&#39;s Research Fund for International Young Scientists (22050410270) and Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology External Funds (DWKF20190001). We would like to offer our sincere gratitude to Miss Chen Xinyi for her assistance in proofreading the document and laboratory management.

1. Preparation of gradient swarm plates
<ol>
	<li>Preparation of swarm medium 
	NOTE: See the discussion section for a brief comparison of different medium viscosities; 0.7% (w/v) agar concentration of swarm medium was used in this protocol.
	<ol>
		<li>Prepare Lysogeny broth (LB) powder with agar in two conical flasks; each flask contains 2 g of tryptone, 2 g of sodium chloride, 1 g of yeast extract, and 1.4 g of agar. Add double-distilled water (ddH2O) and stir the suspension using a ...

<ol>
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Investigation of bacterial swarming motility on semisolid gradient plates can be a challenging task18,19,20, as it involves multiple factors such as substrate viscosity, humidity, and medium components. Among these factors, agar concentration plays a decisive role in determining microbial reversion to either swimming or swarming motility. As the agar concentration increases from 0.3% (w/v) to 1% (w/v), bacterial swimming motilit...

Bacterial swarming motility refers to the collective migration of bacterial cells across the surface of a substance. In addition to semisolid agar plates specially prepared in the laboratory1, this phenotype is also observed on some soft substrates such as animal tissues2, hydrated surfaces3, and plant roots4. While a semisolid surface is considered one of the fundamental conditions for bacterial swarming, some species also require an energy-rich medium to support their swarming motility5. Flagella rotation powers both swimming and swarming motility-swimming describes the unicellular motility within a liquid environment, whereas swarming is the synchronous movement of a microbial population across semisolid surfaces.
Substrate viscosity influences bacterial motility; studies of pathogenic microbes, such as Helicobacter pylori,&#160;have shown that the pathogen&#39;s motility changes depending on the mucin layer viscosity, which is influenced by environmental acidification in the human host6. To replicate these environments, earlier studies using agar concentration above 0.3% (w/v) restrict bacterial swimming motility to effect a gradual shift into surface swarming. The use of agar concentration above 1% (w/v) prevents the swarming motility of many species7. The colony patterns formed on the surface are diverse, including featureless mat8, bull&#39;s eye9, dendrites10, and vortex11.
Although the relevance of such patterns remains unclear, those patterns seem to be dependent on environmental and chemical cues12. Environmental cues cover different aspects, including temperature, salinity, light, and pH, whereas chemical cues include the presence of microbial quorum sensing molecules, biochemical byproducts, and nutrients. Autoinducer quorum sensing signaling molecules such as AHL (N-hexanoyl-L homoserine lactone) can impact surface swarming by regulating the production of surfactant13,14. Resveratrol, a phytoalexin compound, could restrict bacterial swarming motility15.
In the present work, we investigate the effect of gradient concentrations of resveratrol on wild-type Escherichia coli K12 strain and investigate arabinose-inducible swarming motility of engineered E. coli K12-YdeH and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1-YdeH species. The production of the YdeH enzyme is induced by arabinose via the araBAD promoter, resulting in cellular c-di-GMP perturbation and affecting bacterial swarming motility16,17. This inducible swarming behavior is studied using arabinose gradient swarm plates with E. coli K12-YdeH and P. aeruginosa PAO1-YdeH strains.
The gradient swarm plates are prepared by successively solidifying double-layer medium (Figure 1B). The bottom layer comprises the medium added with the inducer, poured on one side of a propped-up Petri dish. Upon the solidification of the bottom layer, the Petri dish is returned to a flat surface, where the upper layer containing the medium without the inducer is added from the other side of the plate. After the swarm plates are completely solidified, isometrically arranged holding-wells are produced by boring holes on the swarm plates following a fixed layout (Figure 1C) or by imprinting the wells using a 3D printed model of the plate cover containing pegs during the medium curing process (Supplemental Figure S1). A gel imaging system is used to capture the swarming morphologies at different time points (Figure 2). Analysis of surface swarming using ImageJ software (Supplemental Figure S2) provides quantitative results of the surface swarming process (Figure 3).
Thus, we propose a simple method to test surface swarming motility within a concentration range of inducers. This method can be used to test multiple concentration responses of other inducers by mixing the inducer into the bottom-layer medium and can be applied to other motile species (e.g., Bacillus subtilis, Salmonella enterica, Proteus mirabilis, Yersinia enterocolitica). This approach could provide reliable qualitative and quantitative results for screening a single chemical inducer, and separate plates may be employed to evaluate more chemical inducers.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Agar</td>
			<td>Sigma-Aldrich</td>
			<td>V900500</td>
			<td>500 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ampicillin</td>
			<td>Solarbio</td>
			<td>A8180</td>
			<td>25 g, &#8805; 85% (GC)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Centrifuge tube</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>430790</td>
			<td>15 mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cryogenic vial</td>
			<td>Corning</td>
			<td>430488</td>
			<td>2 mL</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)</td>
			<td>Aladdin</td>
			<td>D103272</td>
			<td>AR, &#62; 99% (GC)</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>L(+)-Arabinose</td>
			<td>Aladdin</td>
			<td>A106195</td>
			<td>98% (GC), 500 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Petri dishes</td>
			<td>Bkman</td>
			<td>B-SLPYM90-15</td>
			<td>Plastic Petri dishes,circular,90 mm x 15 mm</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Resveratrol</td>
			<td>Aladdin</td>
			<td>R107315</td>
			<td>99% (GC), 25 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Sodium chloride</td>
			<td>Macklin</td>
			<td>S805275</td>
			<td>AR, 99.5% (GC), 500 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Square Petri dishes</td>
			<td>Bkman</td>
			<td>B-SLPYM130F</td>
			<td>Plastic Petri dishes, square, 13 mm x 13 mm</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tryptone</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific Oxoid</td>
			<td>LP0042</td>
			<td>500 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Yeast extract</td>
			<td>Thermo Scientific Oxoid</td>
			<td>LP0021</td>
			<td>500 g</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Equipments</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Biochemical incubator</td>
			<td>Blue pard</td>
			<td>LRH-70</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Tanon 5200multi imaging system</td>
			<td>Tanon</td>
			<td>5200CE</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Thermostatic water bath</td>
			<td>Jinghong</td>
			<td>DK-S28</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

quantifying bacterial surface swarming motility on inducer gradient plates

Bacterial swarming motility is a common microbiological phenotype that bacterial communities use to migrate over semisolid surfaces. In investigations of induced swarming motility, specific concentration&#160;of an inducer may not be able to report events occurring within the optimal concentration range to elicit the desired responses from a species. Semisolid plates containing multiple concentrations are commonly used to investigate the response within an inducer concentration range. However, separate semisolid plates increase variations in medium viscosity and moisture content within each plate due to nonuniform solidification time.
This paper describes a one-step method to simultaneously test surface swarming motility on a single gradient plate, where the isometrically arranged test wells allow the simultaneous acquisition of multiconcentration responses. In the present work, the surface swarming of Escherichia coli K12 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 were evaluated in response to a concentration gradient of inducers such as resveratrol and arabinose. Periodically, the swarm morphologies were imaged using an imaging system to capture the entire surface swarming process.
The quantitative measurement of the swarm morphologies was acquired using ImageJ software, providing analyzable information of the swarm area. This paper presents a simple gradient swarm plate method that provides qualitative and quantitative information about the inducers&#39; effects on surface swarming, which can be extended to study the effects of other inducers on a broader range of motile bacterial species.

The workflow consisting of the preparation of gradient swarm plates, inoculation, and incubation is shown in Figure 1B. To generate gradient swam plates, the bottom-layer medium is poured into propped-up dishes at ~4.3&#176; from the horizontal plane (Supplemental Figure S3), followed by pouring the upper-layer medium after the bottom layer is completely solidified. The composition of the double-layer medium is shown in Table 1. Then, bacterial culture cultu...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Quantifying Bacterial Surface Swarming Motility on Inducer Gradient Plates at JoVE.com

Quantifying Bacterial Surface Swarming Motility on Inducer Gradient Plates

Here, we describe the use of inducer gradient plates to evaluate bacterial swarming motility while simultaneously obtaining multiple concentration responses.

Bacterial swarming motility is a common microbiological phenotype that bacterial communities use to migrate over semisolid surfaces. In investigations of ...

The protocol simultaneously tracks bacterial swarming responses to different inducer concentrations on a semisolid agar. This is achieved in a cost-effective manner. This high throughput screening technique negates the need of agar with various inducer concentrations to observe the microchemotactic responses.The technique is designed for drug screening and also to observe the micropathogen SD responses. Also, it can be used to study microresponses to various biochemical cues in the human host. This method can provide insight into bacterial chemotaxis.Bacteria will respond to various concentrations of chemical attractants known as positive chemotaxis or chemical repellents known as negative chemotaxis. A carefully prepared set up is essential to avoid a variations between the gel angle of the lower layer to prevent the reproducability issue. To begin, label 13 by 13 centimeter square Petri dishes with stains and inducer names.Then prop the dishes up over the edge of the lids. Add arabinose solution to warm bottom layer medium. Add 40 milliliters of warm bottom layer medium.Allow the bottom layer medium to cure uncovered for one hour inside a laminar flow hood undisturbed. Once the bottom layer is completely solidified, remove the lids and lay the Petri dishes inside a laminar flow hood. Add 40 milliliters of warm upper layer medium using a motorized pipette filter.Cure the double layer plates covered and undisturbed for one hour, then store them at four degree Celsius for 24 hours. Place the marked A4 paper under a well solidified gradient plate. Push the broader side of a 100 microliter pipette tip into the semisolid medium surface at the marked position and press the pipette tip until it reaches the bottom of the upper layer medium.When the tip touches the bottom, stop applying any vertical force to the tip and gently rotate the tip to isolate the content of the cylindrical well. Horizontally move the pipette tip along a small distance to allow airflow into the narrow place set aside. Press the tip with the index finger to block the gas flow inside the tip.Pull the tip out vertically, keeping the well content in the tip while pulling it out. Add 80 microliters of the overnight growth culture into every well. Take the swarm plates out of the incubator one at a time every 12 hours and place them in the gel imaging system.Select gel imaging mode, expose the swarm plate to white light, and adjust the focal length to obtain a clear view of swarms. Enhance the brightness of the swarms for precise observation by adjusting the exposure time to 300 milliseconds. Adjust the threshold to minimize interference from the background light.Save the image file for further analysis. Record the imaging time, inducer type, gradient orientation, and strains in a txt file. Click Process, then Shadows to enhance the sharpness of the image.Click on Process followed by Batch to process the image. Then process an image as a reference by clicking on Process, Shadows, and South. Click Process, Batch, Macro to open the Batch Process window.Look for the commands displayed in the window. Type the folder address of the original images in the output file address by clicking Process in the Batch Process window. Use the wand tracing tool to select swarms individually and double click on the wand tracing tool to adjust the tolerance until the generated line fits the swarm boundary correctly.Click on Analyze, then Measure to export the area value. E.coli K12 YdeH was tested on arabinose gradient plates used to demonstrate the surface swarming process with overlap occurring between adjacent wells. A plate with three test wells enabled the formation of non-overlapping boundaries.P.aeruginosa PAO1 YdeH swarming motility was promoted with increased arabinose concentration from the lowest concentration, but gradually restricted with higher concentrations arabinose concentrations. E.coli K12 wild type strains tested on resveratrol gradient plates within the zero to 400 microliter concentration range showed a modest restriction of the swarming motility with increasing resveratrol concentration. Swarm areas were quantified by ImageJ software.The swarming curve displayed the multiple concentration responses. The most crucial part of this procedure is manufacturing a double layer swarm plate with a specific concentration range of inducers. This method enables researchers to investigate the induced surface swarming within a specific concentration range and to quantify the effects of other inducers and components on swarming.

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Myosin proteins bind and interact with filamentous actin (F-actin) and are found in organisms across the phylogenetic tree. Their structure and enzymatic ...

Density Gradient Ultracentrifugation for Investigating Endocytic Recycling in Mammalian Cells

Endosomal trafficking is an essential cellular process that regulates a broad range of biological events. Proteins are internalized from the plasma ...

Polysome Profiling without Gradient Makers or Fractionation Systems

Polysome fractionation by sucrose density gradient centrifugation is a powerful tool that can be used to create ribosome profiles, identify specific mRNAs ...

Motility of Single Molecules and Clusters of Bi-Directional Kinesin-5 Cin8 Purified from S. cerevisiae Cells

Motility of Single Molecules and Clusters of Bi-Directional Kinesin-5 Cin8 Purified from S. cerevisiae Cells

The mitotic bipolar kinesin-5 motors perform essential functions in spindle dynamics. These motors exhibit a homo-tetrameric structure with two pairs of ...