Professors Eileen M. Spain of Occidental College, Megan A. Ferguson of SUNY New Paltz, and Megan E. Nunez of Mt Holyoke College are supported by the Analytical and Surface Chemistry Program in the Division of Chemistry to investigate the chemical and physical properties of bacterial biofilms, and the mechanisms by which they are consumed by predators, such as Bdellovibrio. Two separate approaches are considered. The first focuses on the use of atomic force microscopy (AFM) to characterize the properties of bacterial cells during various stages of biofilm formation. Specifically, the force measurement modes of the AFM will be used to measure cellular spring constants, surface biomolecule compression, and adhesion to the tip. The second approach focuses on the role of Bdellovibrio in attacking the biofilms of Gram-negative organisms. Quorum sensing in Bdellovibrio, and the pigments produced by Bdellovibrio, will be investigated. The ultimate goals of the proposed research are to determine how Bdellovibrio predation is affected by the physical properties of biofilm cells, and what property of the prey cell surface allows the predator to recognize it as edible. Understanding how bacteria communicate within the same and different species and how predators recognize prey cells in biofilms has tremendous relevance to microbiology, medicine, ecology and biodefense. Undergraduate students from diverse ethnic and socioeconomic background at three primarily undergraduate institutions will be exposed to interdisciplinary research at the interface between chemistry and microbiology.
