Biofilm Susceptibility to Antimicrobials

1997 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Gilbert ◽  
J. Das ◽  
I. Foley

Microbial biofilms, where organisms are intimately associated with each other and a solid substratum through binding and inclusion within an exopolymer matrix, are widely distributed in nature and disease. In the mouth, multispecies biofilms are associated not only with dental plaque and tooth decay but also with soft tissues of the buccal cavity and with most forms of periodontal disease. Organization of micro-organisms within biofilms confers, on the component species, properties which are not evident with the individual species grown independently or as planktonic populations in liquid media. While many of these properties relate to the establishment of functional, mixed-species consortia within the exopolymeric matrices, others relate to the establishment of physico-chemical gradients, within the biofilm, that modify the metabolism of the component cells. A consequence of biofilm growth that has profound implications for their control in the environment and in medicine is a markedly enhanced resistance to chemical antimicrobial agents and antibiotics. Mechanisms associated with such resistance in biofilms will form the substance of the present review. While some aspects of biofilm resistance are yet only poorly understood, the dominant mechanisms are thought to be related to: (i) modified nutrient environments and suppression of growth rate within the biofilm; (ii) direct interactions between the exopolymer matrices, and their constituents, and antimicrobials, affecting diffusion and availability; and (iii) the development of biofilm/attachmentspecific phenotypes.

2020 ◽  
Vol 38 (No. 3) ◽  
pp. 137-143
Author(s):  
Michaela Rollová ◽  
Lucia Gharwalova ◽  
Aleš Krmela ◽  
Věra Schulzová ◽  
Jana Hajšlová ◽  
...  

The biological activity of polyphenol substances contained in food supplements prepared from Vitis vinifera can affect the microorganisms present in the digestive tract in terms of their representation and activity of the individual species. This study deals with resveratrol and two polyphenol-rich extracts (extract from V. vinifera canes and the commercial product Regrapex-R-forte) and their effect on selected gut microbiota (Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis Bb-12, Lactobacillus acidophilus LA-5, Lactobacillus casei Lafti L-26, Citrobacter freundii DBM 3127, Escherichia coli DBM 3125). The effect of the studied agents on planktonic and biofilm growth of the microorganisms was determined as minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC80) and minimum biofilm inhibitory concentration (MBIC80), respectively. The extracts induced metabolic activity as well as total biofilm biomass production in probiotic strain L. acidophilus LA-5 while successfully inhibiting the growth of opportunistic pathogenic microorganisms C. freundii DBM 3127 and E. coli DBM 3125.


Author(s):  
O. A. Olapoju ◽  
C. A. Edokpayi

The aim of the paper is to identify macroinvertebrates distribution in response to induced stressors and physico-chemical parameters of water and sediment. The species composition of macrobenthic invertebrates as well as the physico-chemical characteristics of Badagry creek was investigated monthly. Six sampling stations selected based on different levels of human activities along the creeks stretch and samples were collected monthly from September 2006 to February 2007. The fluctuations of some of the physical and chemical parameters such as pH, dissolved oxygen, BOD and total organic carbon appeared to have been influenced by activities along the study stretch. Analysis of variance (ANOVA)  for all parameters showed no significant differences (P > 0.05) in the parameters but  Post hoc tests analysis using Duncan showed that there was a significant difference (P = 0.05) in the mean total of some of the parameters. pH, clay, sand and gravel were significantly correlated with other parameters while canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) model showed that the environmental variables correlated with significant part of the variations in the individual species abundance and it revealed that dominant species were found to be significantly correlated with dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids, sand and pH.


2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 698-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyang-Mi Nam ◽  
Suk-Kyung Lim ◽  
Hyun-Mi Kang ◽  
Jae-Myoung Kim ◽  
Jin-San Moon ◽  
...  

The aim of the current study was to determine the antimicrobial resistance of streptococci isolated from mastitic bovine milk samples. A total of 178 isolates belonging to 6 different Streptococcus species were examined: S. uberis (n = 99), S. bovis ( n = 30), S. oralis ( n = 24), S. salivarius ( n = 13), S. intermedius ( n = 7), and S. agalactiae ( n = 5). Only 8.9% (16/178) of the isolates were susceptible to all antimicrobial agents tested in this study, and S. agalactiae and S. intermedius isolates were all resistant to at least 1 antimicrobial agent tested. Overall, the most frequently observed resistance was to tetracycline (61.2%), followed by lincomycin (43.2%), gentamycin (35.3%), oxacillin (34.3%), and erythromycin (28.6%). Cephalothin and penicillin were the only antimicrobial agents to which most of the streptococci (92%) were susceptible. Wide differences in the prevalence of resistance are apparent among the individual species: S. salivarius displayed exceptionally high resistance to cephalothin (23.0%) and oxacillin (76.9%) and S. agalactiae (20%) and S. intermedius (14.2%) to penicillin. Streptococcus salivarius and S. agalactiae were all susceptible to erythromycin, but others showed various rates of resistance ranging from 12.5% to 42.8%. Resistance to 3 or more of 7 antimicrobial agents was observed in all species (37.6%, 67/178).


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas James O'Brien ◽  
Wendy Figueroa ◽  
Martin Welch

The airways of people with cystic fibrosis (CF) often harbour diverse polymicrobial communities. These airway infections can be impossible to resolve though antibiotic intervention, even though isolates of the individual species present are susceptible to the treatment when tested in vitro. This suggests that susceptibility to antimicrobial agents may be altered in the presence of other microbial species. In this work, we investigate how polymicrobial cultures of key CF-associated species respond to challenge with species-specific antimicrobial agents; colistin (targets Pseudomonas aeruginosa), fusidic acid (targets Staphylococcus aureus) and fluconazole (targets Candida albicans). We found that, compared with growth in axenic cultures, the target organism was protected (sometimes by several orders of magnitude) from the effect(s) of the antimicrobial agent when grown in a polymicrobial culture. This decreased antimicrobial efficacy in polymicrobial cultures was found to have both phenotypic and inherited components. Whole genome sequencing of the colistin-resistant P. aeruginosa isolates revealed single nucleotide polymorphisms and indels in genes encoding lipopolysaccharide (LPS) biosynthesis or pilus biogenesis. Colistin resistance associated with loss-of-function mutations in the LPS biosynthetic gene, wzy, could be complemented by expression of the wild-type wzy gene in trans. Our findings indicate that the polymicrobial nature of the CF airways is likely to have a significant impact on the clinical response to antimicrobial therapy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 797
Author(s):  
Davide Mugetti ◽  
Mattia Tomasoni ◽  
Paolo Pastorino ◽  
Giuseppe Esposito ◽  
Vasco Menconi ◽  
...  

The Mycobacterium fortuitum group (MFG) consists of about 15 species of fast-growing nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM). These globally distributed microorganisms can cause diseases in humans and animals, especially fish. The increase in the number of species belonging to MFG and the diagnostic techniques panel do not allow to clarify their real clinical significance. In this study, biomolecular techniques were adopted for species determination of 130 isolates derived from fish initially identified through biochemical tests as NTM belonging to MFG. Specifically, gene sequencing and phylogenetic analysis were used based on a fragment of the gene encoding the 65 KDa heat shock protein (hsp65). The analyzes made it possible to confirm that all the isolates belong to MFG, allowing to identify the strains at species level. Phylogenetic analysis substantially confirmed what was obtained by gene sequencing, except for six strains; this is probably due to the sequences present in NCBI database. Although the methodology used cannot represent a univocal identification system, this study has allowed us to evaluate its effectiveness as regards the species of MFG. Future studies will be necessary to apply these methods with other gene fragments and to clarify the real pathogenic significance of the individual species of this group of microorganisms.


2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 3155-3162 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. A. Kasian ◽  
V. A. Pashynska ◽  
O. V. Vashchenko ◽  
A. O. Krasnikova ◽  
A. Gömöry ◽  
...  

Qualitatively different membranotropic effects of the individual drugs and complexes formed in their combined use were demonstrated by differential scanning calorimetry.


Phytotaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 502 (2) ◽  
pp. 191-207
Author(s):  
SHIVANI KASHYAP ◽  
CHANDAN KUMAR SAHU ◽  
ROHIT KUMAR VERMA ◽  
LAL BABU CHAUDHARY

Due to large size and enormous morphological plasticity, the taxonomy of the genus Astragalus is very complex and challenging. The identification and grouping of species chiefly based on macromorphological characters become sometimes difficult in the genus. In the present study, the micromorphology of the seeds of 30 species belonging to 14 sections of Astragalus from India has been examined applying scanning electron microscopy (SEM) along with light microscopy (LM) to evaluate their role in identification and classification. Attention was paid to colour, shape, size and surface of seeds. The overall size of the seeds ranges from 1.5–3.2 × 0.8–2.2 mm. The shape of the seeds is cordiform, deltoid, mitiform, orbicular, ovoid and reniform. The colour of seeds varies from brown to blackish-brown to black. Papillose, reticulate, ribbed, rugulate and stellate patterns were observed on the seed coat surface (spermoderm) among different species. The study reveals that the seed coat ornamentations have evolved differently among species and do not support the subgeneric and sectional divisions of the genus. However, they add an additional feature to the individual species, which may help in identification in combination with other macro-morphological features.


2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 135-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.-U. Kreft ◽  
J. W. Wimpenny

We have simulated a nitrifying biofilm with one ammonia and one nitrite oxidising species in order to elucidate the effect of various extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) production scenarios on biofilm structure and function. The individual-based model (IbM) BacSim simulates diffusion of all substrates on a two-dimensional lattice. Each bacterium is individually simulated as a sphere of given size in a continuous, three-dimensional space. EPS production kinetics was described by a growth rate dependent and an independent term (Luedeking-Piret equation). The structure of the biofilm was dramatically influenced by EPS production or capsule formation. EPS production decreased growth of producers and stimulated growth of non-producers because of the energy cost involved. For the same reason, EPS accumulation can fall as its rate of production increases. The patchiness and roughness of the biofilm decreased and the porosity increased due to EPS production. EPS density was maximal in the middle of the vertical profile. Introduction of binding forces between like cells increased clustering.


2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 302-307 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Pippi ANTONIAZZI ◽  
Gabriela Ocampo TROJAHN ◽  
Maísa CASARIN ◽  
Camilla Filippi dos Santos ALVES ◽  
Roberto Christ Vianna SANTOS ◽  
...  

Abstract Objective To compare the antimicrobial efficacy of a 0.12% chlorhexidine (CHX) and herbal green tea (Camellia sinensis) solution on established biofilms formed at different oxygen tensions in an in situ model. Method Twenty-five dental students were eligible for the study. In situ devices with standardized enamel specimens (ES) facing the palatal and buccal sides were inserted in the mouths of volunteers for a 7 day period. No agent was applied during the first four days. From the fifth day onward, both agents were applied to the test ES group and no agent was applied to the control ES group. After 7 days the ES fragments were removed from the devices, sonicated, plated on agar, and incubated for 24 h at 37 °C to determine and quantify the colony forming units (CFUs). Result CHX had significantly higher efficacy compared to green tea on the buccal (1330 vs. 2170 CFU/µL) and palatal (2250 vs. 2520 CFU/µL) ES. In addition, intragroup comparisons showed significantly higher efficacy in buccal ES over palatal ES (1330 vs. 2250 CFU/µL for CHX and 2170 vs, 2520 CFU/µL for CV) for both solutions. Analysis of the ES controls showed significantly higher biofilm formation in palatal ES compared to buccal ES. Conclusion CHX has higher efficacy than green tea on 4-day biofilms. The efficacy of both agents was reduced for biofilms grown in a low oxygen tension environment. Therefore, the oxygen tension environment seems to influence the efficacy of the tested agents.


Author(s):  
Julie M. Fives ◽  
F. I. O'Brien

The Galway Bay area was sampled quantitatively for plankton during 1972–3. The larvae and/or post-larvae of 67 species of fish were identified from the plankton. The recorded occurrence per m3 and the percentage occurrence of the individual species is presented and discussed, and reference is made to the concurrent occurrence of various chaetognath species and copepod species. The results of previous investigations of the plankton of the Galway Bay area are mentioned.


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