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Microbial Biofilms: An Introduction Biofilms are communities of bacteria attached to surfaces. These surface attached communities can be found in medical, industrial and natural settings. In fact, life in a biofilm probably represents the predominate mode of growth for microbes in most environments. Mature biofilms have a few distinct characteristics. The microbes in biofilms are typically surrounded by an extracellular matrix that provides structure and protection to the community. Bacteria growing in a biofilm also have a characteristic architecture generally comprised of macrocolonies (containing thousands of cells) surrounded by fluid-filled channels. These channels have been compared to primitive circulatory systems. Finally, biofilm-grown bacteria are notorious for their resistance to a range of antimicrobial agents including clinically relevant antibiotics. Despite the great interest in biofilms, little is known about the molecular genetic basis of biofilm development and biofilm-specific antibiotic resistance. These research questions are currently under investigation in the O'Toole lab.
To learn more about biofilms, select the links to some recent review articles written by the members of the O'Toole lab.
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