License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike OpenStax College, Prokaryotic Diversity. Overall, biofilms are very difficult to destroy because they are resistant to many common forms of sterilization. The sticky substance that holds bacteria together also excludes most antibiotics and disinfectants, making biofilm bacteria hardier than their planktonic counterparts. Interactions among the organisms that populate a biofilm, together with their protective exopolysaccharidic (EPS) environment, make these communities more robust than free-living, or planktonic, prokaryotes. They also colonize household surfaces, such as kitchen counters, cutting boards, sinks, and toilets, as well as places on the human body, such as the surfaces of our teeth. In recent, large-scale outbreaks of bacterial contamination of food, biofilms have played a major role. Micrographs of a Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm in each of the stages of development are shown.īiofilms are present almost everywhere: they can cause the clogging of pipes and readily colonize surfaces in industrial settings. During stage 5, dispersal, the biofilm matrix is partly broken down, allowing some bacteria to escape and colonize another surface. During stage 4, maturation II, the biofilm continues to grow and takes on a more complex shape. An extracellular matrix composed primarily of polysaccharides holds the biofilm together. During stage 3, maturation I, the biofilm grows through cell division and recruitment of other bacteria. During stage 2, irreversible attachment, hairlike appendages called pili permanently anchor the bacteria to the surface. During stage 1, initial attachment, bacteria adhere to a solid surface via weak van der Waals interactions. \( \newcommand\): Biofilm Development: Five stages of biofilm development are shown.
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