Print Email Facebook Twitter Bacteria-in-paper, a versatile platform to study bacterial ecology Title Bacteria-in-paper, a versatile platform to study bacterial ecology Author Hol, F.J.H. (TU Delft BN/Cees Dekker Lab; Harvard University; Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft; Stanford University) Whitesides, George M. (Harvard University) Dekker, C. (TU Delft BN/Cees Dekker Lab; Kavli institute of nanoscience Delft) Date 2019 Abstract Habitat spatial structure has a profound influence on bacterial life, yet there currently are no low-cost equipment-free laboratory techniques to reproduce the intricate structure of natural bacterial habitats. Here, we demonstrate the use of paper scaffolds to create landscapes spatially structured at the scales relevant to bacterial ecology. In paper scaffolds, planktonic bacteria migrate through liquid-filled pores, while the paper’s cellulose fibres serve as anchor points for sessile colonies (biofilms). Using this novel approach, we explore bacterial colonisation dynamics in different landscape topographies and characterise the community composition of Escherichia coli strains undergoing centimetre-scale range expansions in habitats structured at the micrometre scale. The bacteria-in-paper platform enables quantitative assessment of bacterial community dynamics in complex environments using everyday materials. Subject Bacteriacolonisationdendritic networksexperimental toolshabitat structuremicrofabricationpaperpopulation dynamicsrange expansionspatial structure To reference this document use: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:e695b8b3-6e7e-4257-8e22-388ea0459d50 DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13274 ISSN 1461-023X Source Ecology Letters, 22 (8), 1316-1323 Part of collection Institutional Repository Document type journal article Rights © 2019 F.J.H. Hol, George M. Whitesides, C. Dekker Files PDF Hol_et_al_2019_Ecology_Letters.pdf 1.38 MB Close viewer /islandora/object/uuid:e695b8b3-6e7e-4257-8e22-388ea0459d50/datastream/OBJ/view