Confocal microscopy images for: Surface remodeling and inversion of cell-matrix interactions underlie community recognition and dispersal in Vibrio cholerae biofilms

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. We combine genetics, microscopy, simulations, and
biochemical analyses to show that V. cholerae cells are not attracted to
the main matrix component (Vibrio polysaccharide, VPS), but can be
attached to each other and to the VPS network through crosslinks formed by
protein Bap1. Downregulation of VPS production and surface trimming by
polysaccharide lyase RbmB cause surface remodeling as biofilms age,
shifting the nature of cell-matrix interactions from attractive to
repulsive and facilitating cell dispersal as aggregated groups. Our
results shed light into the dynamics of diverse cell-matrix interactions
as drivers of biofilm development.