Authors: R Caubet F PedarrosCaubet Y Quataert A Lescure J M Moreau W J Ellison
Publish Date: 2006/08/08
Volume: 52, Issue: 2, Pages: 239-
Abstract
Planktonic bacteria passing to a sessile state during the formation of a biofilm undergo many gene expression and phenotypic changes These transformations require a significant time to establish Inversely cells extracted from a biofilm should also require a significant time before acquiring the same physiological characteristics as planktonic cells Relatively few studies have addressed the kinetics of this inverse transformation process We tested one aspect namely the contamination potential of freshly extracted Escherichia coli biofilm cells precultured in a synthetic medium in a rich liquid growth medium We compared the time between inoculation and the beginning of the growth phase of freshly extracted biofilm cells and suspended exponential and suspended stationary phase cells precultured in the same synthetic medium Unexpectedly the lag time for the extracted biofilm cells was the same as the lag time of the suspended exponential phase cells and significantly less than the lag time of the suspended stationary phase cells The lag times were determined by an impedance technique Cells extracted from biofilms ie biofilms formed in canalizations and broken up by hydrodynamic forces are an important source of contamination Our work shows in the case of E coli the high potential of freshly extracted biofilm cells to reinfect a new medium
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