Open AccessAlcohol treatment enhances S taphylococcus aureus biofilm development
Author(s) -
Redelman Carly V.,
Maduakolam Chike,
Anderson Gregory G.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
fems immunology & medical microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1574-695X
pISSN - 0928-8244
DOI - 10.1111/1574-695x.12005
Subject(s) - biofilm , staphylococcus aureus , microbiology and biotechnology , icad , antibiotics , bacteria , biology , chemistry , gene , biochemistry , genetics
S taphylococcus aureus forms pathogenic biofilms. Previous studies have indicated that ethanol supplementation during S . aureus biofilm formation results in increased biofilm formation and changes in gene expression. However, the impact of alcohols on preformed S . aureus biofilms has not been studied. In this study, we formed S . aureus biofilms on PVC plastic plates and then treated these preformed biofilms with five different alcohols. We observed that alcohol treatment of preformed S . aureus biofilms led to significant increases in biofilm levels after 24 h of treatment. Many bacteria within these biofilms were found to be alive and metabolically active. Alcohol treatment also resulted in increased transcription of the biofilm‐promoting genes icaA and icaD , as well as several antibiotic resistance genes. These results demonstrate that treatment of S . aureus preformed biofilms with alcohols enhances biofilm levels if maintained for extended periods. Thus, alcohols might be of limited usefulness for the eradication of preformed S . aureus biofilms.