Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34588437›Full record

ArticleNature communications2021

Social motility of biofilm-like microcolonies in a gliding bacterium.

Chao Li, Amanda Hurley, Wei Hu, Jay W Warrick, Gabriel L Lozano, Jose M Ayuso, Wenxiao Pan, Jo Handelsman, David J Beebe

Open access · goldAbstract readVideo-Audio Media
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
24citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
2.7field-weighted citation impact, top 9% 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

24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 47 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Molecular imaging of bacterial biofilms-a systematic review.Critical reviews in microbiology · 2024
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Acquired motility ofProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  4. Review
  5. In Vitro Monitoring of Babesia microti Infection Dynamics in Whole Blood Microenvironments.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2025
    Article
  6. Review
  7. Article
  8. Co-zorbs: Motile, multispecies biofilms aid transport of diverse bacterial species.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  9. Cyanobacteria and Chloroflexota cooperate to structure light-responsive biofilms.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Review
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Article
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Differential gliding motility responses ofCurrent research in microbial sciences · 2024
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Review
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

9 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Chao Li *Carbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1126-0655
Amanda Hurley *Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Wei HuDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Jay W WarrickDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Gabriel L LozanoWisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Jose M AyusoCarbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Wenxiao PanDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-2252-7888
Jo HandelsmanWisconsin Institute for Discovery, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
David J BeebeCarbone Cancer Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA. djbeebe@wisc.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-0415-9006
University of Wisconsin–Madison · USBoston Children's Hospital · US

Funding

An automated high-throughput tissue model for screening metastatic effectorsR01CA186134 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI BEEBE, DAVID J · 2015 to 2019
$3.1M
[PQC-3] A Metabolic Pathway Activation Marker for Prostate Cancer PrognosisR01CA185251 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI BASU, HIRAK S., BEEBE, DAVID J · 2014 to 2017
$2.9M
Understanding cell migration through microscale in vitro modelsR01EB010039 · NIBIB · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI BEEBE, DAVID J, HUTTENLOCHER, ANNA · 2011 to 2014
$1.7M
VERSA: An Integrated, Multi-Endpoint Platform for Circulating Tumor Cell AnalysisR01CA181648 · NCI · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · PI BERRY, SCOTT M, LANG, JOSHUA MICHAEL · 2014 to 2018
$1.6M
NCI NIH HHS R01 CA181648NCI NIH HHS R01 CA185251NCI NIH HHS R01 CA186134NIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB010039
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Bacterial biofilms are aggregates of surface-associated cells embedded in an extracellular polysaccharide (EPS) matrix, and are typically stationary. Studies of bacterial collective movement have largely focused on swarming motility mediated by flagella or pili, in the absence of a biofilm. Here, we describe a unique mode of collective movement by a self-propelled, surface-associated biofilm-like multicellular structure. Flavobacterium johnsoniae cells, which move by gliding motility, self-assemble into spherical microcolonies with EPS cores when observed by an under-oil open microfluidic system. Small microcolonies merge, creating larger ones. Microscopic analysis and computer simulation indicate that microcolonies move by cells at the base of the structure, attached to the surface by one pole of the cell. Biochemical and mutant analyses show that an active process drives microcolony self-assembly and motility, which depend on the bacterial gliding apparatus. We hypothesize that this mode of collective bacterial movement on solid surfaces may play potential roles in biofilm dynamics, bacterial cargo transport, or microbial adaptation. However, whether this collective motility occurs on plant roots or soil particles, the native environment for F. johnsoniae, is unknown.

Indexed as

BiofilmsLocomotionComputer SimulationFlavobacteriumIntravital MicroscopyMicrofluidic Analytical TechniquesPlant RootsSoil MicrobiologyTime-Lapse Imaging

Identifiers

PMID34588437
PMCPMC8481357
OpenAlexW3204483546

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.