Author ORCID Identifier
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7860-8214
Date of Award
Spring 5-8-2026
Document Type
Thesis (Ph.D.)
Department or Program
Biological Sciences
First Advisor
Carey Nadell
Abstract
Bacteria commonly exist in natural environments as communities of multiple strains and species attached to surfaces and encased in an extracellular matrix of DNA, protein, and polysaccharides–termed biofilms. These biofilms contribute to diverse functions, from ocean carbon cycling via chitin degradation to pathogenic processes such as wound or implant colonization. The molecular mechanisms governing biofilm formation and composition have been well characterized in model pathogenic organisms, yet the extent to which aspects of biofilm formation contribute to the assembly and maintenance of diverse communities remains less well understood. Using microfluidics, confocal microscopy, and model biofilm-forming bacteria, this thesis details how distinct steps of biofilm formation, from matrix secretion to dispersal, can underlie and generate the diversity observed within biofilm communities via community barrier formation, density-dependent population regulation, and access to concentrated extracellular DNA for recombination.
Recommended Citation
Holt, Jacob David, "Mechanisms underlying diversity in bacterial biofilms" (2026). Dartmouth College Ph.D Dissertations. 480.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/dissertations/480
