Biofilms have conventionally been perceived as dense bacterial masses on surfaces, following the five-step model of development. Initial biofilm research focused on surface-attached formations, but detached aggregates have received increasing attention in the past decade due to their pivotal role in chronic infections. Understanding their nature sparked fervent discussions in biofilm conferences and scientific literature. This review consolidates current insights on non-attached aggregates, offering examples of their occurrence in nature and diseases. We discuss their formation and dispersion mechanisms, resilience to antibiotics and immune-responses, drawing parallels to surface-attached biofilms. Moreover, we outline available in vitro models for studying non-attached aggregates.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10474055 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42003-023-05281-4 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Bacteria Living in Biofilms in Fluids: Could Chemical Antibiofilm Pretreatment of Culture Represent a Paradigm Shift in Diagnostics?
Microorganisms
January 2024
Romano Institute, Rruga Deshmoret e 4 Shkurtit, 1001 Tirana, Albania.
Biofilms are multicellular aggregates of bacteria immersed in an extracellular matrix that forms on various surfaces, including biological tissues and artificial surfaces. However, more and more reports point out the fact that even biological fluids and semifluid, such as synovial liquid, blood, urine, or mucus and feces, harbor "non-attached" biofilm aggregates of bacteria, which represent a significant phenomenon with critical clinical implications that remain to be fully investigated. In particular, biofilm aggregates in biological fluid samples have been shown to play a relevant role in bacterial count and in the overall accuracy of microbiological diagnosis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe non-attached biofilm aggregate.
Commun Biol
September 2023
Costerton Biofilm Center, Department of Immunology and Microbiology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Biofilms have conventionally been perceived as dense bacterial masses on surfaces, following the five-step model of development. Initial biofilm research focused on surface-attached formations, but detached aggregates have received increasing attention in the past decade due to their pivotal role in chronic infections. Understanding their nature sparked fervent discussions in biofilm conferences and scientific literature.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEfficient carbon and nitrogen transfer from marine diatom aggregates to colonizing bacterial groups.
Sci Rep
September 2022
Department of Isotope Biogeochemistry, Helmholtz-Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Permoserstrasse 15, 04318, Leipzig, Germany.
Bacterial degradation of sinking diatom aggregates is key for the availability of organic matter in the deep-ocean. Yet, little is known about the impact of aggregate colonization by different bacterial taxa on organic carbon and nutrient cycling within aggregates. Here, we tracked the carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) transfer from the diatom Leptocylindrus danicus to different environmental bacterial groups using a combination of C and N isotope incubation (incubated for 72 h), CARD-FISH and nanoSIMS single-cell analysis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOne Health-One Biofilm.
Vet Res
July 2022
Regroupement de Recherche pour un Lait de Qualité Optimale (Op+lait), Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, J2S 2M2, Canada.
Bacterial biofilms are structured clusters of bacterial cells enclosed in a self-produced polymer matrix that are attached to a biotic or abiotic surface. This structure protects bacteria from hostile environmental conditions. There are also accumulating reports about bacterial aggregates associated but not directly adherent to surfaces.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNon-surface Attached Bacterial Aggregates: A Ubiquitous Third Lifestyle.
Front Microbiol
December 2020
National Biofilms Innovation Centre, Institute for Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
Bacteria are now generally believed to adopt two main lifestyles: planktonic individuals, or surface-attached biofilms. However, in recent years medical microbiologists started to stress that suspended bacterial aggregates are a major form of bacterial communities in chronic infection sites. Despite sharing many similarities with surface-attached biofilms and are thus generally defined as biofilm-like aggregates, these non-attached clumps of cells show much smaller sizes and different formation mechanisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!