Role of Multicellular Aggregates in Biofilm Formation.

ABSTRACT:

Unlabelled

In traditional models ofin vitrobiofilm development, individual bacterial cells seed a surface, multiply, and mature into multicellular, three-dimensional structures. Much research has been devoted to elucidating the mechanisms governing the initial attachment of single cells to surfaces. However, in natural environments and during infection, bacterial cells tend to clump as multicellular aggregates, and biofilms can also slough off aggregates as a part of the dispersal process. This makes it likely that biofilms are often seeded by aggregates and single cells, yet how these aggregates impact biofilm initiation and development is not known. Here we use a combination of experimental and computational approaches to determine the relative fitness of single cells and preform

SUBMITTER: Kragh KN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4807362 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature