Glitter-like iridescence within the bacteroidetes especially Cellulophaga spp.: optical properties and correlation with gliding motility.

Iridescence results from structures that generate color. Iridescence of bacterial colonies has recently been described and illustrated. The glitter-like iridescence class, created especially for a few strains of Cellulophaga lytica, exhibits an intense iridescence under direct illumination. Such col...

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Main Authors: Betty Kientz, Adrien Ducret, Stephen Luke, Peter Vukusic, Tâm Mignot, Eric Rosenfeld
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0052900&type=printable
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author Betty Kientz
Adrien Ducret
Stephen Luke
Peter Vukusic
Tâm Mignot
Eric Rosenfeld
author_facet Betty Kientz
Adrien Ducret
Stephen Luke
Peter Vukusic
Tâm Mignot
Eric Rosenfeld
author_sort Betty Kientz
collection DOAJ
description Iridescence results from structures that generate color. Iridescence of bacterial colonies has recently been described and illustrated. The glitter-like iridescence class, created especially for a few strains of Cellulophaga lytica, exhibits an intense iridescence under direct illumination. Such color appearance effects were previously associated with other bacteria from the Bacteroidetes phylum, but without clear elucidation and illustration. To this end, we compared various bacterial strains to which the iridescent trait was attributed. All Cellulophaga species and additional Bacteroidetes strains from marine and terrestrial environments were investigated. A selection of bacteria, mostly marine in origin, were found to be iridescent. Although a common pattern of reflected wavelengths was recorded for the species investigated, optical spectroscopy and physical measurements revealed a range of different glitter-like iridescence intensity and color profiles. Importantly, gliding motility was found to be a common feature of all iridescent colonies. Dynamic analyses of "glitter" formation at the edges of C. lytica colonies showed that iridescence was correlated with layer superposition. Both gliding motility, and unknown cell-to-cell communication processes, may be required for the establishment, in time and space, of the necessary periodic structures responsible for the iridescent appearance of Bacteroidetes.
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publishDate 2012-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
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series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj-art-d943b55fadf84a57bd9a0a1eb3dae2192025-08-20T02:30:50ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032012-01-01712e5290010.1371/journal.pone.0052900Glitter-like iridescence within the bacteroidetes especially Cellulophaga spp.: optical properties and correlation with gliding motility.Betty KientzAdrien DucretStephen LukePeter VukusicTâm MignotEric RosenfeldIridescence results from structures that generate color. Iridescence of bacterial colonies has recently been described and illustrated. The glitter-like iridescence class, created especially for a few strains of Cellulophaga lytica, exhibits an intense iridescence under direct illumination. Such color appearance effects were previously associated with other bacteria from the Bacteroidetes phylum, but without clear elucidation and illustration. To this end, we compared various bacterial strains to which the iridescent trait was attributed. All Cellulophaga species and additional Bacteroidetes strains from marine and terrestrial environments were investigated. A selection of bacteria, mostly marine in origin, were found to be iridescent. Although a common pattern of reflected wavelengths was recorded for the species investigated, optical spectroscopy and physical measurements revealed a range of different glitter-like iridescence intensity and color profiles. Importantly, gliding motility was found to be a common feature of all iridescent colonies. Dynamic analyses of "glitter" formation at the edges of C. lytica colonies showed that iridescence was correlated with layer superposition. Both gliding motility, and unknown cell-to-cell communication processes, may be required for the establishment, in time and space, of the necessary periodic structures responsible for the iridescent appearance of Bacteroidetes.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0052900&type=printable
spellingShingle Betty Kientz
Adrien Ducret
Stephen Luke
Peter Vukusic
Tâm Mignot
Eric Rosenfeld
Glitter-like iridescence within the bacteroidetes especially Cellulophaga spp.: optical properties and correlation with gliding motility.
PLoS ONE
title Glitter-like iridescence within the bacteroidetes especially Cellulophaga spp.: optical properties and correlation with gliding motility.
title_full Glitter-like iridescence within the bacteroidetes especially Cellulophaga spp.: optical properties and correlation with gliding motility.
title_fullStr Glitter-like iridescence within the bacteroidetes especially Cellulophaga spp.: optical properties and correlation with gliding motility.
title_full_unstemmed Glitter-like iridescence within the bacteroidetes especially Cellulophaga spp.: optical properties and correlation with gliding motility.
title_short Glitter-like iridescence within the bacteroidetes especially Cellulophaga spp.: optical properties and correlation with gliding motility.
title_sort glitter like iridescence within the bacteroidetes especially cellulophaga spp optical properties and correlation with gliding motility
url https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0052900&type=printable
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