Three faces of biofilms: a microbial lifestyle, a nascent multicellular organism, and an incubator for diversity

Autor: Anahit Penesyan, Ian T. Paulsen, Staffan Kjelleberg, Michael R. Gillings
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2021
Předmět:
Zdroj: npj Biofilms and Microbiomes, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2055-5008
DOI: 10.1038/s41522-021-00251-2
Popis: Abstract Biofilms are organised heterogeneous assemblages of microbial cells that are encased within a self-produced matrix. Current estimates suggest that up to 80% of bacterial and archaeal cells reside in biofilms. Since biofilms are the main mode of microbial life, understanding their biology and functions is critical, especially as controlling biofilm growth is essential in industrial, infrastructure and medical contexts. Here we discuss biofilms both as collections of individual cells, and as multicellular biological individuals, and introduce the concept of biofilms as unique incubators of diversity for the microbial world.
Databáze: Directory of Open Access Journals