A Brief Recap of Microbial Adhesion and Biofilms

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Abstract

Food and beverage industries operate their production units under stringent hygiene standards to verify high-quality products. However, the presence of biofilms can cause hygienic problems in the industries in the case of pathogenic organisms. Microorganisms can form biofilms, which are resistant to cleaning and disinfection. Microorganisms in biofilms are closely packed in a matrix that acts as a barrier to cleaning and disinfection. Biofilms are observed in processing equipment and open surfaces, resulting in food safety problems or weakening of production efficiency. This review provides a recap of the biofouling process, including the production mechanisms and control techniques of microbial adhesion. Microbial adhesion and colonization are the sine qua non of the establishment of bacterial pathogenesis and this report focuses on their prevention.

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Quorum sensing: cell-to-cell communication in bacteria.

Christopher M Waters, Bonnie L Bassler (2005)

Bacteria communicate with one another using chemical signal molecules. As in higher organisms, the information supplied by these molecules is critical for synchronizing the activities of large groups of cells. In bacteria, chemical communication involves producing, releasing, detecting, and responding to small hormone-like molecules termed autoinducers . This process, termed quorum sensing, allows bacteria to monitor the environment for other bacteria and to alter behavior on a population-wide scale in response to changes in the number and/or species present in a community. Most quorum-sensing-controlled processes are unproductive when undertaken by an individual bacterium acting alone but become beneficial when carried out simultaneously by a large number of cells. Thus, quorum sensing confuses the distinction between prokaryotes and eukaryotes because it enables bacteria to act as multicellular organisms. This review focuses on the architectures of bacterial chemical communication networks; how chemical information is integrated, processed, and transduced to control gene expression; how intra- and interspecies cell-cell communication is accomplished; and the intriguing possibility of prokaryote-eukaryote cross-communication.

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Antifouling coatings: recent developments in the design of surfaces that prevent fouling by proteins, bacteria, and marine organisms.

Indrani Banerjee, Ravindra Pangule, Ravi Kane (2011)

The major strategies for designing surfaces that prevent fouling due to proteins, bacteria, and marine organisms are reviewed. Biofouling is of great concern in numerous applications ranging from biosensors to biomedical implants and devices, and from food packaging to industrial and marine equipment. The two major approaches to combat surface fouling are based on either preventing biofoulants from attaching or degrading them. One of the key strategies for imparting adhesion resistance involves the functionalization of surfaces with poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) or oligo(ethylene glycol). Several alternatives to PEG-based coatings have also been designed over the past decade. While protein-resistant coatings may also resist bacterial attachment and subsequent biofilm formation, in order to overcome the fouling-mediated risk of bacterial infection it is highly desirable to design coatings that are bactericidal. Traditional techniques involve the design of coatings that release biocidal agents, including antibiotics, quaternary ammonium salts (QAS), and silver, into the surrounding aqueous environment. However, the emergence of antibiotic- and silver-resistant pathogenic strains has necessitated the development of alternative strategies. Therefore, other techniques based on the use of polycations, enzymes, nanomaterials, and photoactive agents are being investigated. With regard to marine antifouling coatings, restrictions on the use of biocide-releasing coatings have made the generation of nontoxic antifouling surfaces more important. While considerable progress has been made in the design of antifouling coatings, ongoing research in this area should result in the development of even better antifouling materials in the future. Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

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Critical review on biofilm methods.

Joana Azeredo, Nuno F Azevedo, Romain Briandet … (2017)

Biofilms are widespread in nature and constitute an important strategy implemented by microorganisms to survive in sometimes harsh environmental conditions. They can be beneficial or have a negative impact particularly when formed in industrial settings or on medical devices. As such, research into the formation and elimination of biofilms is important for many disciplines. Several new methodologies have been recently developed for, or adapted to, biofilm studies that have contributed to deeper knowledge on biofilm physiology, structure and composition. In this review, traditional and cutting-edge methods to study biofilm biomass, viability, structure, composition and physiology are addressed. Moreover, as there is a lack of consensus among the diversity of techniques used to grow and study biofilms. This review intends to remedy this, by giving a critical perspective, highlighting the advantages and limitations of several methods. Accordingly, this review aims at helping scientists in finding the most appropriate and up-to-date methods to study their biofilms.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (publisher-id): ASPCC7

Title: Applied Sciences

Abbreviated Title: Applied Sciences

Publisher: MDPI AG

ISSN (Electronic): 2076-3417

Publication date Created: July 2019

Publication date (Electronic): July 12 2019

Volume: 9

Issue: 14

Page: 2801

Article

DOI: 10.3390/app9142801

SO-VID: 65c5af8a-15c6-4def-866e-0075c69ecb86

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https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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A Brief Recap of Microbial Adhesion and Biofilms

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Abstract

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Microbial Genomics

Most cited references 73

Quorum sensing: cell-to-cell communication in bacteria.

Antifouling coatings: recent developments in the design of surfaces that prevent fouling by proteins, bacteria, and marine organisms.

Critical review on biofilm methods.

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Cited by 45

Most referenced authors 2,271