Bacterial chemotaxis in a microfluidic T-maze reveals strong phenotypic heterogeneity in chemotactic sensitivity

M. Mehdi Salek, Francesco Carrara, Vicente Fernandez, Jeffrey S. Guasto and Roman Stocker ()
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M. Mehdi Salek: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Francesco Carrara: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Vicente Fernandez: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jeffrey S. Guasto: Tufts University
Roman Stocker: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Nature Communications, 2019, vol. 10, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Abstract Many microorganisms have evolved chemotactic strategies to exploit the microscale heterogeneity that frequently characterizes microbial habitats. Chemotaxis has been primarily studied as an average characteristic of a population, with little regard for variability among individuals. Here, we adopt a classic tool from animal ecology – the T-maze – and implement it at the microscale by using microfluidics to expose bacteria to a sequence of decisions, each consisting of migration up or down a chemical gradient. Single-cell observations of clonal Escherichia coli in the maze, coupled with a mathematical model, reveal that strong heterogeneity in the chemotactic sensitivity coefficient exists even within clonal populations of bacteria. A comparison of different potential sources of heterogeneity reveals that heterogeneity in the T-maze originates primarily from the chemotactic sensitivity coefficient, arising from a distribution of pathway gains. This heterogeneity may have a functional role, for example in the context of migratory bet-hedging strategies.

Date: 2019
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-09521-2

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