Berlin 2012 – scientific programme

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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 9: Focus: Systems Biology of Bacteria (with jDPG)

BP 9.2: Invited Talk

Tuesday, March 27, 2012, 10:00–10:30, E 020

The evolutionary advantage of being round — •Oskar Hallatschek — Max Planck Research Group for Biophysics and Evolutionary Dynamics, MPI-DS, Goettingen, Germany

Bacterial species display an astonishing variety of shapes, such as round, rod-like, comma- or spiral-shaped. Shape is thought to influence several biological functions, such as nutrient take-up, swimming and the attachment to surfaces. Here, we study a possible impact of cell shape on adaptation. We show that, due to a biophysical buckling instability, rod-like bacteria exhibit much higher levels of random number fluctuation (genetic drift) in growing colonies than round microbes. Consequently, the establishment of beneficial mutations is strongly suppressed in colonies of rod-like bacteria. Our experiments and model thus support the hypothesis that shape strongly influences adaptability of growing biofilms.