Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33731698›Full record

ArticleNPJ biofilms and microbiomes2021

Bursting out: linking changes in nanotopography and biomechanical properties of biofilm-forming Escherichia coli to the T4 lytic cycle.

Shiju Abraham, Yair Kaufman, François Perreault, Ry Young, Edo Bar-Zeev

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in NPJ biofilms and microbiomes, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
1.0field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 9 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Science advances · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Shiju AbrahamZuckerberg Institute for Water Research, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sde Boqer Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel.ORCID 0000-0003-2632-7581
Yair KaufmanZuckerberg Institute for Water Research, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sde Boqer Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel. yairkauf@ucsb.edu.
François PerreaultSchool of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.
Ry YoungDepartment of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA.
Edo Bar-ZeevZuckerberg Institute for Water Research, The Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Sde Boqer Campus, Midreshet Ben-Gurion, Israel. barzeeve@bgu.ac.il.ORCID 0000-0001-6575-2068
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev · ILArizona State University · USTexas A&M University · US

Funding

Phage LysisR35GM136396 · NIGMS · TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE RESEARCH · PI YOUNG, RYLAND FLETCHER · 2020 to 2024
$1.9M
NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM136396
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The bacteriophage infection cycle has been extensively studied, yet little is known about the nanostructure and mechanical changes that lead to bacterial lysis. Here, atomic force microscopy was used to study in real time and in situ the impact of the canonical phage T4 on the nanotopography and biomechanics of irreversibly attached, biofilm-forming E. coli cells. The results show that in contrast to the lytic cycle in planktonic cells, which ends explosively, anchored cells that are in the process of forming a biofilm undergo a more gradual lysis, developing distinct nanoscale lesions (~300 nm in diameter) within the cell envelope. Furthermore, it is shown that the envelope rigidity and cell elasticity decrease (>50% and >40%, respectively) following T4 infection, a process likely linked to changes in the nanostructure of infected cells. These insights show that the well-established lytic pathway of planktonic cells may be significantly different from that of biofilm-forming cells. Elucidating the lysis paradigm of these cells may advance biofilm removal and phage therapeutics.

Indexed as

Bacterial AdhesionBacteriolysisBacteriophage T4BiofilmsBiomechanical PhenomenaEscherichia coliMicroscopy, Atomic Force

Identifiers

PMID33731698
PMCPMC7969764
OpenAlexW3136007661

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.