Berlin 2015 – wissenschaftliches Programm

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SOE: Fachverband Physik sozio-ökonomischer Systeme

SOE 8: Poster

SOE 8.31: Poster

Montag, 16. März 2015, 18:00–20:00, Poster E

Transformation in range expansion assays — •Robert Zöllner, Enno Oldewurtel, Nadzeya Kouzel, and Berenike Maier — Universität zu Köln, Department of Physics, Germany

Numerous bacterial species generate biofilms that cause a decreased response to antibiotics. Biofilms are complex and dynamic communities of bacteria that are embedded in an extracellular matrix. For many species including the human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae, extracellular DNA (eDNA) is an essential structural element of the biofilm. Here, we use a model biofilm to test the role of eDNA in development and spreading of multi-drug resistance in biofilms through transformation. The spatial expansion of densely growing bacteria on agar, also known as range expansion, provides an effectively two dimensional model for a biofilm. Using different fluorescence markers for different antibiotic resistance genes, horizontal gene transfer was directly visualized. The rate of generation of multi-resistant transformants and their spreading rate were measured at varying selection pressures set by the antibiotics.