Three faces of biofilms: a microbial lifestyle, a nascent multicellular organism, and an incubator for diversity

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Biofilms are organised heterogeneous assemblages of microbial cells that are encased within a self-produced matrix. Current estimates suggest that up to 80% of bacterial and archaeal cells reside in biofilms. Since biofilms are the main mode of microbial life, understanding their biology and functions is critical, especially as controlling biofilm growth is essential in industrial, infrastructure and medical contexts. Here we discuss biofilms both as collections of individual cells, and as multicellular biological individuals, and introduce the concept of biofilms as unique incubators of diversity for the microbial world.

Related collections

Most cited references 113

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

The biofilm matrix.

Hans-Curt Flemming, Jost Wingender (2010)

The microorganisms in biofilms live in a self-produced matrix of hydrated extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that form their immediate environment. EPS are mainly polysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acids and lipids; they provide the mechanical stability of biofilms, mediate their adhesion to surfaces and form a cohesive, three-dimensional polymer network that interconnects and transiently immobilizes biofilm cells. In addition, the biofilm matrix acts as an external digestive system by keeping extracellular enzymes close to the cells, enabling them to metabolize dissolved, colloidal and solid biopolymers. Here we describe the functions, properties and constituents of the EPS matrix that make biofilms the most successful forms of life on earth.

0 comments Cited 1592 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Revised Estimates for the Number of Human and Bacteria Cells in the Body

Ron Sender, Shai Fuchs, Ron Milo (2016)

Reported values in the literature on the number of cells in the body differ by orders of magnitude and are very seldom supported by any measurements or calculations. Here, we integrate the most up-to-date information on the number of human and bacterial cells in the body. We estimate the total number of bacteria in the 70 kg "reference man" to be 3.8·1013. For human cells, we identify the dominant role of the hematopoietic lineage to the total count (≈90%) and revise past estimates to 3.0·1013 human cells. Our analysis also updates the widely-cited 10:1 ratio, showing that the number of bacteria in the body is actually of the same order as the number of human cells, and their total mass is about 0.2 kg.

0 comments Cited 1341 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Biofilms: an emergent form of bacterial life.

Hans-Curt Flemming, Jost Wingender, Ulrich Szewzyk … (2017)

Bacterial biofilms are formed by communities that are embedded in a self-produced matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Importantly, bacteria in biofilms exhibit a set of 'emergent properties' that differ substantially from free-living bacterial cells. In this Review, we consider the fundamental role of the biofilm matrix in establishing the emergent properties of biofilms, describing how the characteristic features of biofilms - such as social cooperation, resource capture and enhanced survival of exposure to antimicrobials - all rely on the structural and functional properties of the matrix. Finally, we highlight the value of an ecological perspective in the study of the emergent properties of biofilms, which enables an appreciation of the ecological success of biofilms as habitat formers and, more generally, as a bacterial lifestyle.

0 comments Cited 1324 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

All references

Author and article information

Contributors

Anahit Penesyan:

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2502-0740

anahit.penesyan@mq.edu.au

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes

Title: NPJ Biofilms and Microbiomes

Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK (London )

ISSN (Electronic): 2055-5008

Publication date (Electronic): 10 November 2021

Publication date PMC-release: 10 November 2021

Publication date Collection: 2021

Volume: 7

Electronic Location Identifier: 80

Affiliations

[1 ]GRID grid.1004.5, ISNI 0000 0001 2158 5405, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, , Macquarie University, ; Sydney, NSW 2109 Australia

[2 ]GRID grid.1004.5, ISNI 0000 0001 2158 5405, ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology, , Macquarie University, ; Sydney, NSW 2109 Australia

[3 ]GRID grid.1004.5, ISNI 0000 0001 2158 5405, Department of Molecular Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, , Macquarie University, ; Sydney, NSW 2109 Australia

[4 ]GRID grid.484638.5, ISNI 0000 0004 7703 9448, Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, ; 60 Nanyang Drive, SBS-01N-27, Singapore, 637551 Singapore

[5 ]GRID grid.59025.3b, ISNI 0000 0001 2224 0361, School of Biological Sciences, , Nanyang Technological University, ; 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore, 637551 Singapore

[6 ]GRID grid.1005.4, ISNI 0000 0004 4902 0432, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, , University of New South Wales, ; Sydney, NSW 2052 Australia

Author information

Anahit Penesyan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2502-0740

Ian T. Paulsen http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9015-9418

Staffan Kjelleberg http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4271-6413

Michael R. Gillings http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4043-4351

Article

Publisher ID: 251

DOI: 10.1038/s41522-021-00251-2

PMC ID: 8581019

PubMed ID: 34759294

SO-VID: 3543e981-5bdf-4141-bb1c-f0e08ee805b4

License:

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

Date received : 17 June 2021

Date accepted : 12 October 2021

Funding

Funded by: Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology funded by the Australian Research Council, grant number CE200100029

Custom metadata

Keywords: biofilms,microbial ecology

Data availability:

Keywords: biofilms, microbial ecology

Comments

Comment on this article

Cited by 69

See all cited by

Most referenced authors 1,040

See all reference authors

- Version 1