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Investigation of bacterial chemotaxis in flow-based microfluidic devices

Nature Protocols volume 5, pages 864–872 (2010)Cite this article

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Abstract

The plug-in-pond and capillary assays are convenient methods for measuring attractant and repellent bacterial chemotaxis. However, these assays do not provide quantitative information on the extent of migration and are not well-suited for investigating repellent taxis. Here, we describe a protocol for a flow-based microfluidic system (μFlow) to quantitatively investigate chemotaxis in response to concentration gradients of attractants and repellents. The μFlow device uses diffusive mixing to generate concentration gradients that are stable throughout the chemotaxis chamber and for the duration of the experiment. The gradients may be of any desired absolute concentration and gradient strength. GFP-expressing bacteria immediately encounter a stable concentration gradient when they enter the chemotaxis chamber, and the migration in response to the gradient is monitored by microscopy. The effects of different parameters that influence the extent of migration in the μFlow device—preparation of the motile bacterial population preparation, strength of the concentration gradient and duration of exposure to the gradient—are discussed in the context of repellent taxis of chemotactically wild-type Escherichia coli cells in a gradient of NiSO4. Fabrication of the microfluidic device takes 1 d while preparing motile cells and carrying out the chemotaxis experiment takes 4–6 h to complete.

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Figure 1: The flow-based microfluidic (μFlow)-chemotaxis device.
Figure 2: Outline of steps involved in the fabrication of microfluidic devices.
Figure 3: Schematic of the flow-based microfluidic device (μFlow) setup.
Figure 4: Quantification of concentration gradients.
Figure 5: Quantification of migration profiles.
Figure 6: Effect of the cell preparation method on chemotaxis.
Figure 7: Effect of gradient strength on chemotaxis.
Figure 8: Effect of flow rate on chemotaxis.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported, in part, by a grant from the National Science Foundation (CBET 0846453) to A.J.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    Derek L Englert & Arul Jayaraman

  2. Department of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    Michael D Manson

  3. Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    Michael D Manson

  4. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA

    Arul Jayaraman

Authors
  1. Derek L Englert
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Contributions

D.L.E. carried out the experiments; D.L.E., M.D.M. and A.J. designed the experiments; and M.D.M. and A.J. wrote the paper.

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Correspondence to Arul Jayaraman.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Englert, D., Manson, M. & Jayaraman, A. Investigation of bacterial chemotaxis in flow-based microfluidic devices. Nat Protoc 5, 864–872 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2010.18

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