Biofilms in chronic infections - a matter of opportunity - monospecies biofilms in multispecies infections

It has become evident that aggregation or biofilm formation is an important survival mechanism for bacteria in almost any environment. In this review, we summarize recent visualizations of bacterial aggregates in several chronic infections (chronic otitis media, cystic fibrosis, infection due to per...

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Published in:FEMS immunology and medical microbiology 2010-08, Vol.59 (3), p.324-336
Main Authors: Burmølle, Mette, Thomsen, Trine Rolighed, Fazli, Mustafa, Dige, Irene, Christensen, Lise, Homøe, Preben, Tvede, Michael, Nyvad, Bente, Tolker-Nielsen, Tim, Givskov, Michael, Moser, Claus, Kirketerp-Møller, Klaus, Johansen, Helle Krogh, Høiby, Niels, Jensen, Peter Østrup, Sørensen, Søren J, Bjarnsholt, Thomas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aggregates
Bacteria
Bacteria - classification
Bacteria - growth & development
Bacteria - isolation & purification
Bacteria - pathogenicity
Bacterial Adhesion
Bacterial Infections - microbiology
Biodiversity
biofilm
Biofilms
Biofilms - growth & development
Chronic Disease
Chronic infection
chronic infections
Cystic fibrosis
Diagnostic systems
diagnostics
Fillers
Humans
Infections
Intestine
Niches
Otitis media
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Summary:It has become evident that aggregation or biofilm formation is an important survival mechanism for bacteria in almost any environment. In this review, we summarize recent visualizations of bacterial aggregates in several chronic infections (chronic otitis media, cystic fibrosis, infection due to permanent tissue fillers and chronic wounds) both as to distribution (such as where in the wound bed) and organization (monospecies or multispecies microcolonies). We correlate these biofilm observations to observations of commensal biofilms (dental and intestine) and biofilms in natural ecosystems (soil). The observations of the chronic biofilm infections point toward a trend of low bacterial diversity and sovereign monospecies biofilm aggregates even though the infection in which they reside are multispecies. In contrast to this, commensal and natural biofilm aggregates contain multiple species that are believed to coexist, interact and form biofilms with high bacterial and niche diversity. We discuss these differences from both the diagnostic and the scientific point of view.
ISSN:0928-8244
1574-695X
2049-632X
DOI:10.1111/j.1574-695X.2010.00714.x