Electrical Control of Escherichia coli Growth Measured with Simultaneous Modulation and Imaging

2020 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 1075

Applying a voltage suppressed the fraction of E. coli undergoing elongation and division, with recovery to control values after voltage removal. Depolarization was observed over the same voltage range, suggesting a membrane potential-mediated response.

Study snapshot

Publicationmanual · 2020

Study typeother

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

Electrical Control of Escherichia coli Growth Measured with Simultaneous Modulation and Imaging Xu Han, Bradley R Foster, Christine K Payne. Electrical Control of Escherichia coli Growth Measured with Simultaneous Modulation and Imaging. Bioelectricity. 2020 Sep 1;2(3):221-228. doi: 10.1089/bioe.2020.0002. Abstract Background: The use of electricity to mediate bacterial growth is unique in providing spatial control, but requires a more detailed understanding. Methods: We use two gold wires on a glass coverslip with an overlayer of agar to image Escherichia coli cells with brightfield and fluorescence microscopy while simultaneously applying a voltage. Cells outside of the wires provide a control population to measure cell growth as a function of voltage, rather than any difference in culture conditions or growth phase. Results: An applied voltage suppresses the fraction of E. coli undergoing elongation and division with recovery to control values when the voltage is removed. Depolarization is observed over the same voltage range suggesting a membrane potential-mediated response. Conclusions: Our experiments identify and use subcytotoxic voltages to measure differences in the fraction of E. coli cells elongating and dividing as a function of applied voltage. It is hoped that this research will inform the developing field of bacterial electrophysiology. Open access paper: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeother

Effect directionharm

PopulationEscherichia coli (bacteria)

Sample sizeNot supplied

ExposureNot supplied

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Outcomes measured

fraction of cells undergoing elongation
fraction of cells undergoing division
membrane depolarization (membrane potential response)

Limitations

Voltage magnitude/range not specified in the abstract
Exposure duration not specified in the abstract
Sample size not reported in the abstract
Study is in bacteria (not directly generalizable to human health outcomes)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "other",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "applied voltage via gold wires on glass coverslip (bioelectric stimulation)",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": null
  },
  "population": "Escherichia coli (bacteria)",
  "sample_size": null,
  "outcomes": [
    "fraction of cells undergoing elongation",
    "fraction of cells undergoing division",
    "membrane depolarization (membrane potential response)"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Applying a voltage suppressed the fraction of E. coli undergoing elongation and division, with recovery to control values after voltage removal. Depolarization was observed over the same voltage range, suggesting a membrane potential-mediated response.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "Voltage magnitude/range not specified in the abstract",
    "Exposure duration not specified in the abstract",
    "Sample size not reported in the abstract",
    "Study is in bacteria (not directly generalizable to human health outcomes)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "bioelectricity",
    "applied voltage",
    "Escherichia coli",
    "bacterial growth",
    "elongation",
    "division",
    "membrane depolarization",
    "microscopy",
    "gold wires",
    "agar overlay"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1089/bioe.2020.0002
PubMed: Not supplied

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