Topic
Biofilm
About: Biofilm is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 23010 publications have been published within this topic receiving 906812 citations. The topic is also known as: biofilms.
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TL;DR: Scanning electron microscopy demonstrated that biofilm cells and extracellular matrices could remain on sanitized biofilms and ext racellular matrix could remain surfaces from which no viable cells were recovered.
255 citations
TL;DR: Both alginate biosynthetic and degradative enzymes are important for the development, maintenance and spread of P. aeruginosa biofilms.
Abstract: Pseudomonas aeruginosa synthesizes an exopolysaccharide called alginate in response to environmental conditions. Alginate serves to protect the bacteria from adversity in its surroundings and also enhances adhesion to solid surfaces. Transcription of the alginate biosynthetic genes is induced upon attachment to the substratum and this leads to increased alginate production. As a result, biofilms develop which are advantageous to the survival and growth of the bacteria. In certain circimstances,P. aeruginosa produces an alginate lyase enzyme which cleaves the polymer into short oligosaccharides. This negates the anchoring properties of the alginate and results in increased detachment of the bacteria away from the surface, allowing them to spread and colonize new sites. Thus, both alginate biosynthetic and degradative enzymes are important for the development, maintenance and spread ofP. aeruginosa biofilms.
254 citations
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25 Sep 2008TL;DR: Future challenges include the elucidation of the structure and function of the extracellular exopolymeric substance that surrounds biofilm cells, and the extension of in vitro biofilm observations to newly developed in vivo biofilm models.
Abstract: Biofilm formation by the opportunistic fungal pathogen Candida albicans is a complex process with significant consequences for human health: it contributes to implanted medical device-associated infections. Recent advances in gene expression profiling and genetic analysis have begun to clarify the mechanisms that govern C. albicans biofilm development and acquisition of unique biofilm phenotypes. Such studies have identified candidate adhesin genes, and have revealed that biofilm drug resistance is multifactorial. Newly defined cell-cell communication pathways also have profound effects on biofilm formation. Future challenges include the elucidation of the structure and function of the extracellular exopolymeric substance that surrounds biofilm cells, and the extension of in vitro biofilm observations to newly developed in vivo biofilm models.
254 citations
TL;DR: Recently, major advances have been made in elucidating the different structural components of the biofilm matrix, the regulatory pathways involved in biofilm formation, and signaling molecules involved inBiofilm formation and dispersal, which provide opportunities for prevention and control of these biofilms in the food industry.
254 citations
TL;DR: D-amino acids act in an analogous manner to prevent biofilm development in B. subtilis and S. aureus and it is shown that surfaces impregnated with D-aminos acids were effective in preventing biofilm growth.
Abstract: Biofilms are communities of cells held together by a self-produced extracellular matrix typically consisting of protein, exopolysaccharide, and often DNA. A natural signal for biofilm disassembly in Bacillus subtilis is certain d-amino acids, which are incorporated into the peptidoglycan and trigger the release of the protein component of the matrix. d-Amino acids also prevent biofilm formation by the related Gram-positive bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. Here we employed fluorescence microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy to investigate how d-amino acids prevent biofilm formation by S. aureus. We report that biofilm formation takes place in two stages, initial attachment to surfaces, resulting in small foci, and the subsequent growth of the foci into large aggregates. d-Amino acids did not prevent the initial surface attachment of cells but blocked the subsequent growth of the foci into larger assemblies of cells. Using protein- and polysaccharide-specific stains, we have shown that d-amino acids inhibited the accumulation of the protein component of the matrix but had little effect on exopolysaccharide production and localization within the biofilm. We conclude that d-amino acids act in an analogous manner to prevent biofilm development in B. subtilis and S. aureus. Finally, to investigate the potential utility of d-amino acids in preventing device-related infections, we have shown that surfaces impregnated with d-amino acids were effective in preventing biofilm growth.
254 citations