scholarly journals Multiple Roles of Biosurfactants in Structural Biofilm Development by Pseudomonas aeruginosa

2007 ◽  
Vol 189 (6) ◽  
pp. 2531-2539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sünje Johanna Pamp ◽  
Tim Tolker-Nielsen

ABSTRACT Recent studies have indicated that biosurfactants produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa play a role both in maintaining channels between multicellular structures in biofilms and in dispersal of cells from biofilms. Through the use of flow cell technology and enhanced confocal laser scanning microscopy, we have obtained results which suggest that the biosurfactants produced by P. aeruginosa play additional roles in structural biofilm development. We present genetic evidence that during biofilm development by P. aeruginosa, biosurfactants promote microcolony formation in the initial phase and facilitate migration-dependent structural development in the later phase. P. aeruginosa rhlA mutants, deficient in synthesis of biosurfactants, were not capable of forming microcolonies in the initial phase of biofilm formation. Experiments involving two-color-coded mixed-strain biofilms showed that P. aeruginosa rhlA mutants were defective in migration-dependent development of mushroom-shaped multicellular structures in the later phase of biofilm formation. Experiments involving three-color-coded mixed-strain P. aeruginosa biofilms demonstrated that the wild-type and rhlA and pilA mutant strains formed distinct subpopulations on top of each other dependent on their ability to migrate and produce biosurfactants.

2004 ◽  
Vol 53 (7) ◽  
pp. 679-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andres Plata Stapper ◽  
Giri Narasimhan ◽  
Dennis E. Ohman ◽  
Johnny Barakat ◽  
Morten Hentzer ◽  
...  

Extracellular polymers can facilitate the non-specific attachment of bacteria to surfaces and hold together developing biofilms. This study was undertaken to qualitatively and quantitatively compare the architecture of biofilms produced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain PAO1 and its alginate-overproducing (mucA22) and alginate-defective (algD) variants in order to discern the role of alginate in biofilm formation. These strains, PAO1, Alg+ PAOmucA22 and Alg− PAOalgD, tagged with green fluorescent protein, were grown in a continuous flow cell system to characterize the developmental cycles of their biofilm formation using confocal laser scanning microscopy. Biofilm Image Processing (bip) and Community Statistics (comstat) software programs were used to provide quantitative measurements of the two-dimensional biofilm images. All three strains formed distinguishable biofilm architectures, indicating that the production of alginate is not critical for biofilm formation. Observation over a period of 5 days indicated a three-stage development pattern consisting of initiation, establishment and maturation. Furthermore, this study showed that phenotypically distinguishable biofilms can be quantitatively differentiated.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (01) ◽  
pp. 5218
Author(s):  
Laxmi Mohandas ◽  
Anju T. R. ◽  
Sarita G. Bhat*

An assortment of redox-active phenazine compounds like pyocyanin with their characteristic blue-green colour are synthesized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Gram-negative opportunistic pathogens, which are also considered one of the most commercially valuable microorganisms. In this study, pyocyanin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa BTRY1 from food sample was assessed for its antibiofilm activity by micro titer plate assay against strong biofilm producers belonging to the genera Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Brevibacterium and Micrococcus. Pyocyanin inhibited biofilm activity in very minute concentrations. This was also confirmed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM). Both SEM and CLSM helped to visualize the biocontrol of biofilm formation by eight pathogens. The imaging and quantification by CLSM also established the impact of pyocyanin on biofilm-biocontrol mainly in the food industry.


2010 ◽  
Vol 59 (10) ◽  
pp. 1225-1234 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. M. H. N. Bandara ◽  
O. L. T. Lam ◽  
R. M. Watt ◽  
L. J. Jin ◽  
L. P. Samaranayake

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the bacterial endotoxin LPS on Candida biofilm formation in vitro. The effect of the LPS of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens and Salmonella typhimurium on six different species of Candida, comprising Candida albicans ATCC 90028, Candida glabrata ATCC 90030, Candida krusei ATCC 6258, Candida tropicalis ATCC 13803, Candida parapsilosis ATCC 22019 and Candida dubliniensis MYA 646, was studied using a standard biofilm assay. The metabolic activity of in vitro Candida biofilms treated with LPS at 90 min, 24 h and 48 h was quantified by XTT reduction assay. Viable biofilm-forming cells were qualitatively analysed using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed to visualize the biofilm structure. Initially, adhesion of C. albicans was significantly stimulated by Pseudomonas and Klebsiella LPS. A significant inhibition of Candida adhesion was noted for the following combinations: C. glabrata with Pseudomonas LPS, C. tropicalis with Serratia LPS, and C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis or C. dubliniensis with Salmonella LPS (P<0.05). After 24 h of incubation, a significant stimulation of initial colonization was noted for the following combinations: C. albicans/C. glabrata with Klebsiella LPS, C. glabrata/C. tropicalis/C. krusei with Salmonella LPS. In contrast, a significant inhibition of biofilm formation was observed in C. glabrata/C. dubliniensis/C. krusei with Pseudomonas LPS, C. krusei with Serratia LPS, C. dubliniensis with Klebsiella LPS and C. parapsilosis/C. dubliniensis /C. krusei with Salmonella LPS (P<0.05). On further incubation for 48 h, a significant enhancement of biofilm maturation was noted for the following combinations: C. glabrata/C. tropicalis with Serratia LPS, C. dubliniensis with Klebsiella LPS and C. glabrata with Salmonella LPS, and a significant retardation was noted for C. parapsilosis/C. dubliniensis/C. krusei with Pseudomonas LPS, C. tropicalis with Serratia LPS, C. glabrata/C. parapsilosis/C. dubliniensis with Klebsiella LPS and C. dubliniensis with Salmonella LPS (P<0.05). These findings were confirmed by SEM and CLSM analyses. In general, the inhibition of the biofilm development of LPS-treated Candida spp. was accompanied by a scanty architecture with a reduced numbers of cells compared with the profuse and densely colonized control biofilms. These data are indicative that bacterial LPSs modulate in vitro Candida biofilm formation in a species-specific and time-dependent manner. The clinical and the biological relevance of these findings have yet to be explored.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Na Peng ◽  
Peng Cai ◽  
Monika Mortimer ◽  
Yichao Wu ◽  
Chunhui Gao ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Bacterial biofilms are a surface-adherent microbial community in which individual cells are surrounded by a self-produced extracellular matrix of polysaccharide, extracellular DNA (eDNA) and proteins. Interactions among matrix components within the biofilms are responsible for creating an adaptable structure during biofilm development. However, it is unclear how the interaction among matrix components contributes to the construction of the three-dimensional (3D) biofilm architecture. Results DNase I treatment could significantly inhibit B. subtilis biofilm formation in early phases. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and image analysis revealed that eDNA was cooperative with exopolysaccharide (EPS) in early stages of B. subtilis biofilm development, while EPS played a major structural role in the later stages. In addition, deletion of EPS production gene epsG in B. subtilis SBE1 resulted in loss of the interaction between EPS and eDNA, and reduction of biofilm biomass in pellicles at air-liquid interface. The physical interaction between these two essential biofilm matrix components was confirmed by isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). Conclusions The biofilm 3D structures become interconnected through surrounding eDNA and EPS. eDNA interacts with EPS in the early phases of biofilm development, while EPS mainly participates in the maturation of biofilm. The findings of this study provide better understanding of the role of interaction between eDNA and EPS in shaping the biofilm 3D matrix structure and biofilm formation.


Antibiotics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 474
Author(s):  
Inés Pradal ◽  
Jaime Esteban ◽  
Arancha Mediero ◽  
Marta García-Coca ◽  
John Jairo Aguilera-Correa

Mycobacterium chimaera is an opportunistic slowly growing non-tuberculous mycobacteriumof increasing importance due to the outbreak of cases associated with contaminated 3T heater-cooler device (HCD) extracorporeal membrane oxygenator (ECMO). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pre-treating a surface with a Methylobacterium sp. CECT 7180 extract to inhibit the M. chimaera ECMO biofilm as well as of the treatment after different dehydration times. Surface adherence, biofilm formation and treatment effect were evaluated by estimating colony-forming units (CFU) per square centimeter and characterizing the amount of covered surface area, thickness, cell viability, and presence of intrinsic autofluorescence at different times using confocal laser scanning microscopy and image analysis. We found that exposing a surface to the Methylobacterium sp. CECT 7180 extract inhibited M. chimaera ECMO biofilm development. This effect could be result of the effect of Methylobacterium proteins, such as DNaK, trigger factor, and xanthine oxidase. In conclusion, exposing a surface to the Methylobacteriumsp. extract inhibits M. chimaera ECMO biofilm development. Furthermore, this extract could be used as a pre-treatment prior to disinfection protocols for equipment contaminated with mycobacteria after dehydration for at least 96 h.


2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ye Jin ◽  
Yinjuan Guo ◽  
Qing Zhan ◽  
Yongpeng Shang ◽  
Di Qu ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Previous studies have shown that the administration of antibiotics at subinhibitory concentrations stimulates biofilm formation by the majority of multidrug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains. Here, we investigated the effect of subinhibitory concentrations of mupirocin on biofilm formation by the community-associated (CA) mupirocin-sensitive MRSA strain USA300 and the highly mupirocin-resistant clinical S. aureus SA01 to SA05 isolates. We found that mupirocin increased the ability of MRSA cells to attach to surfaces and form biofilms. Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) demonstrated that mupirocin treatment promoted thicker biofilm formation, which also correlated with the production of extracellular DNA (eDNA). Furthermore, quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) results revealed that this effect was largely due to the involvement of holin-like and antiholin-like proteins (encoded by the cidA gene), which are responsible for modulating cell death and lysis during biofilm development. We found that cidA expression levels significantly increased by 6.05- to 35.52-fold (P < 0.01) after mupirocin administration. We generated a cidA-deficient mutant of the USA300 S. aureus strain. Exposure of the ΔcidA mutant to mupirocin did not result in thicker biofilm formation than that in the parent strain. We therefore hypothesize that the mupirocin-induced stimulation of S. aureus biofilm formation may involve the upregulation of cidA.


2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (8) ◽  
pp. 1038-1045 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rossana de Aguiar Cordeiro ◽  
Lívia Maria Galdino Pereira ◽  
José Kleybson de Sousa ◽  
Rosana Serpa ◽  
Ana Raquel Colares Andrade ◽  
...  

Abstract Trichosporon species have been considered important agents of opportunistic systemic infections, mainly among immunocompromised patients. Infections by Trichosporon spp. are generally associated with biofilm formation in invasive medical devices. These communities are resistant to therapeutic antifungals, and therefore the search for anti-biofilm molecules is necessary. This study evaluated the inhibitory effect of farnesol against planktonic and sessile cells of clinical Trichosporon asahii (n = 3) andTrichosporon inkin (n = 7) strains. Biofilms were evaluated during adhesion, development stages and after maturation for metabolic activity, biomass and protease activity, as well as regarding morphology and ultrastructure by optical microscopy, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. Farnesol inhibited Trichosporon planktonic growth by 80% at concentrations ranging from 600 to 1200 μM for T. asahii and from 75 to 600 μM for T. inkin. Farnesol was able to reduce cell adhesion by 80% at 300 μM for T. asahii and T. inkin at 600 μM, while biofilm development of both species was inhibited by 80% at concentration of 150 μM, altering their structure. After biofilm maturation, farnesol decreased T. asahii biofilm formation by 50% at 600 μM concentration and T. inkin formation at 300 μM. Farnesol inhibited gradual filamentation in a concentration range between 600 and 1200 μM. Farnesol caused reduction of filament structures of Trichosporon spp. at every stage of biofilm development analyzed. These data show the potential of farnesol as an anti-biofilm molecule.


2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Rychert ◽  
Thomas Neu

Protozoan impact on bacterial biofilm formationConfocal laser scanning microscopy in combination with digital image analysis was used to assess the impact of protozoa on bacterial colonisation of surfaces. Bacterial biofilms were developed from activated sludge in microscope flow cells and were exposed to the grazing pressure of protozoa. The protozoan community from healthy activated sludge and a culture of flagellateBodo saltanswere used as grazers. Experiments comprised 48-h incubations in 3 treatment variants: bacteria with protozoa, bacteria with protozoa added after some time and bacteria without protozoa. When necessary, the elimination of protozoa from the inoculum was carried out with cycloheximide and NiSO4. Experiments demonstrated that protozoa from healthy activated sludge initially disturbed the biofilm development but later they could stimulate its growth. Similar results could be established in the experiment withBodo saltans(inoculum: 1000 cells/ml), however differences were not statistically significant. The finding that protozoa support biofilm development during specific stages may be relevant for biofilm studies with mixed environmental biofilm communities.


2012 ◽  
Vol 80 (8) ◽  
pp. 2601-2607 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria van Gennip ◽  
Louise Dahl Christensen ◽  
Morten Alhede ◽  
Klaus Qvortrup ◽  
Peter Østrup Jensen ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTChronic infections withPseudomonas aeruginosapersist because the bacterium forms biofilms that are tolerant to antibiotic treatment and the host immune response. Scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy were used to visualize biofilm developmentin vivofollowing intraperitoneal inoculation of mice with bacteria growing on hollow silicone tubes, as well as to examine the interaction between these bacteria and the host innate immune response. Wild-typeP. aeruginosadeveloped biofilms within 1 day that trapped and caused visible cavities in polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs). In contrast, the number of cells of aP. aeruginosa rhlAmutant that cannot produce rhamnolipids was significantly reduced on the implants by day 1, and the bacteria were actively phagocytosed by infiltrating PMNs. In addition, we identified extracellular wire-like structures around the bacteria and PMNs, which we found to consist of DNA and other polymers. Here we present a novel method to study a pathogen-host interaction in detail. The data presented provide the first direct, high-resolution visualization of the failure of PMNs to protect against bacterial biofilms.


2011 ◽  
Vol 77 (15) ◽  
pp. 5238-5246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aamir Ghafoor ◽  
Iain D. Hay ◽  
Bernd H. A. Rehm

ABSTRACTPseudomonas aeruginosais an opportunistic human pathogen and has been established as a model organism to study bacterial biofilm formation. At least three exopolysaccharides (alginate, Psl, and Pel) contribute to the formation of biofilms in this organism. Here mutants deficient in the production of one or more of these polysaccharides were generated to investigate how these polymers interactively contribute to biofilm formation. Confocal laser scanning microscopy of biofilms formed in flow chambers showed that mutants deficient in alginate biosynthesis developed biofilms with a decreased proportion of viable cells than alginate-producing strains, indicating a role of alginate in viability of cells in biofilms. Alginate-deficient mutants showed enhanced extracellular DNA (eDNA)-containing surface structures impacting the biofilm architecture. PAO1 ΔpslAΔalg8overproduced Pel, and eDNA showing meshwork-like structures presumably based on an interaction between both polymers were observed. The formation of characteristic mushroom-like structures required both Psl and alginate, whereas Pel appeared to play a role in biofilm cell density and/or the compactness of the biofilm. Mutants producing only alginate, i.e., mutants deficient in both Psl and Pel production, lost their ability to form biofilms. A lack of Psl enhanced the production of Pel, and the absence of Pel enhanced the production of alginate. The function of Psl in attachment was independent of alginate and Pel. A 30% decrease in Psl promoter activity in the alginate-overproducing MucA-negative mutant PDO300 suggested inverse regulation of both biosynthesis operons. Overall, this study demonstrated that the various exopolysaccharides and eDNA interactively contribute to the biofilm architecture ofP. aeruginosa.


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