Publications by authors named "Jung-Shen Benny Tai"
Biofilms are ubiquitous surface-associated bacterial communities embedded in an extracellular matrix. It is commonly assumed that biofilm cells are glued together by the matrix; however, how the specific biochemistry of matrix components affects the cell-matrix interactions and how these interactions vary during biofilm growth remain unclear. Here, we investigate cell-matrix interactions in Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera.
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- Biofilms are communities of bacteria that attach to surfaces and are held together by a matrix, but how this matrix interacts with the cells is not fully understood.
- The study focuses on *Vibrio cholerae*, the bacteria responsible for cholera, and reveals that the main matrix component, Vibrio polysaccharide (VPS), does not attract the cells, but a protein called Bap1 helps link the cells together.
- As biofilms age, changes in VPS levels and a process called surface trimming lead to a shift in cell-matrix interactions from attractive to repulsive, promoting cell dispersal and potentially enriching our understanding of biofilm growth dynamics in other microorganisms.