It is all about location: how to pinpoint microorganisms and their functions in multispecies biofilms

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2017

Authors

Costa, AM (Author) Other; Filipe Mergulhão (Author) FEUP; Briandet, R (Author) Other; Azevedo, NF (Author) FEUP

Journal

Title: Future Microbiology

Vol. 12

Pages: 987-999

ISSN: 1746-0913

Publisher: Future Medicine Ltd.

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 3 Citations

Scopus - 7 Citations

Associated Projects

SUSCLEAN - Sustainable Cleaning and Disinfection in Fresh-Cut Food Industries

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-00M-YTP

DOI: 10.2217/fmb-2017-0053

Abstract (EN): Multispecies biofilms represent the dominant mode of life for the vast majority of microorganisms. Bacterial spatial localization in such biostructures governs ecological interactions between different populations and triggers the overall community functions. Here, we discuss the pros and cons of fluorescence-based techniques used to decipher bacterial species patterns in biofilms at single cell level, including fluorescence in situ hybridization and the use of genetically modified bacteria that express fluorescent proteins, reporting the significant improvements of those techniques. The development of tools for spatial and temporal study of multispecies biofilms will allow live imaging and spatial localization of cells in naturally occurring biofilms coupled with metabolic information, increasing insight of microbial community and the relation between its structure and functions.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 13