Biophysical controls on cluster dynamics and architectural differentiation of microbial biofilms in contrasting flow environments.

ABSTRACT: Ecology, with a traditional focus on plants and animals, seeks to understand the mechanisms underlying structure and dynamics of communities. In microbial ecology, the focus is changing from planktonic communities to attached biofilms that dominate microbial life in numerous systems. Therefore, interest in the structure and function of biofilms is on the rise. Biofilms can form reproducible physical structures (i.e. architecture) at the millimetre-scale, which are central to their functioning. However, the spatial dynamics of the clusters conferring physical structure to biofilms remains often elusive. By experimenting with complex microbial communities forming biofilms in contrasting hydrodynamic microenvironments in stream mesocosms, we show that morphogenesis results in 'ripple-like' an

SUBMITTER: Hodl I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4231231 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature