Mechanobiology of infections
During infections, pathogens experience a variety of mechanical forces including flow and contact with soft matrices. Our lab is developing new infection models based on tissue-engineered organoids to investigate pathogens in more realistic environments, and ultimately determine how mechanics impact pathogen physiology.
Reference:
Rossy, PloS Bio 2023
Biofilm morphomechanics
Biofilms are multicellular bacterial structures that confer protection to resident microbes. As a result, they are a preferred lifestyle for many bacteria. Biofilm resilience is the main cause of chronic and recurring infections, contributing to antibiotic resistance. We investigate how the mechanics of biofilms and of the surrounding environment play a role in the physiology of resident bacteria. We engineer new methods to mechanical probe biofilm dwelling cells at high temporal and spatial resolution, allowing us to rigorously identify the contribution of forces in maintaining resilience against antimicrobials.
References:
Cont, eLife, 2020
Rossy, Nature Communications, 2019
Bacterial mechanosensing
As they transition from swimming to surface-attached states, bacteria mechanically experience solid materials. But do they feel this contact as we do when touching a surface? We explore this question by rigorously investigating how bacteria sense and respond to surface contact. We found that the pathogen Pseudomona aeruginosa responds to surface contact by upregulating acute viruelnce factors. P. aeruginosa uses long and thin filament called type IV pili to simultaneously navigate and sense surfaces. We are currently identifying the mechanicsms by which P. aeruginosa transduces a mechanical input from pili to a cellular response.