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Coaggregation amongst aquatic biofilm bacteria
Author(s) -
Buswell C.M.,
Herlihy Y.M.,
Marsh P.D.,
Keevil C.W.,
Leach S.A.
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2672.1997.00260.x
Subject(s) - biofilm , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , biology , micrococcus luteus , bacterial adhesin , flora (microbiology) , escherichia coli , biochemistry , staphylococcus aureus , gene , genetics
Aquatic autochthonous flora isolated directly from a water biofilm model was tested for itscapacity to take part in coaggregation. Two assay methods were compared and a visualsemi‐quantitative method was found to be the most consistent and easy to use. All isolatesdemonstrated coaggregation with at least one other isolate to some extent, giving rise to visibleflocs. One isolate, identified as Micrococcus luteus , was found to coaggregate with all ofthe other isolates to different degrees, highlighting a possible role as a bridging organism in thebiofilm consortium. The addition of certain simple sugars reversed coaggregation betweenparticular isolates suggesting that lectin‐like adhesins were operating between these members ofthe aquatic autochthonous flora by a mechanism similar to that reported to occur between dentalplaque bacteria. The time taken for coaggregation to begin varied considerably between differentpairs of isolates (1–16 h), suggesting that this may play a role in determining the successionalorder of isolates during biofilm development.