Regensburg 2025 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Updates | Downloads | Help

BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik

BP 4: Bacterial Biophysics

BP 4.1: Invited Talk

Monday, March 17, 2025, 09:30–10:00, H46

Spatiotemporal organization of bacterial biofilm formation and functions — •Knut Drescher — Biozentrum, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

In nature, bacteria often live in three-dimensional communities termed biofilms, in which cells are attached to each other through an extracellular matrix. In this presentation, I will first introduce microscopy, image processing, and spatiotemporal transcriptome measurement techniques that enable us to monitor all individual cells in living biofilms. Based on these techniques, I will then show how we can identify the cell-cell interaction processes that determine the architecture development of biofilm microcolonies, across different species. I will then proceed to discuss how individual cells in biofilms coordinate their activities so that the biofilm community develops emergent functions, such as the predation of human immune cells, as well as the protection from viral predators. This talk will therefore shed light on the spatiotemporal development of bacterial communities, and the mechanisms underlying emergent functions of these communities.