Biofilms

ORIGINAL: http://www.cell.com

Taking out the defender

by Maria Alhede and Thomas Bjarnsholt, University of Copenhagen

The in vivo interaction between a Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm, on a silicone implant, and the responding polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

Image: SEM imaging depicts the interaction at day 1 post insertion of the implant in the peritoneal cavity of a mouse. The leukocytes (yellow) are damaged with obvious cavities in the cell membrane and killed by the bacteria (cyan) following contact with the biofilm. The SEM image was pseudo colored in Photoshop CS5 using a Wacom Cintiq 24HD, by Michael Larsen.

Predictably beautiful

by Fernan Federici, PJ Steiner, Tim Rudge, and Jim Haseloff, University of Cambridge

As the bacteria grow within a biofilm, they organize themselves into reproducible patterns and shapes that can be predicted with mathematical models.

Image: Confocal microscopy of a bacterial biofilm composed of Bacillus subtilis expressing fluorescent proteins (TagRFP-T, sfGFP, TagBFP, mKate2 and mOrange2) to identify distinct lineages of bacteria in the biofilm. Images were taken at the Haseloff lab within the Department of Plant Sciences.

Predictably beautiful

by Fernan Federici, PJ Steiner, Tim Rudge, and Jim Haseloff, University of Cambridge

As the bacteria grow within a biofilm, they organize themselves into reproducible patterns and shapes that can be predicted with mathematical models.

Image: Confocal microscopy of a bacterial biofilm composed of Escherichia coli expressing the fluorescent proteins mCherry and sfGFP. The image was acquired on a Leica SP5 confocal microscope using a 2.5X dry objective. Images were taken at the Haseloff lab within the Department of Plant Sciences

Do we have a quorum?

by Tim Rudge, PJ Steiner, Fernan Federici, and Jim Haseloff, University of Cambridge

Under some conditions cells grow as "ropes," leading to interesting network-like structures.

Image: Confocal image of Bacillus subtilis cells in an early stage of biofilm formation. Images were taken at the Haseloff lab within the Department of Plant Sciences.

Keep your friends close

by Tim Rudge, PJ Steiner, Fernan Federici, and Jim Haseloff, University of Cambridge

Complex biofilm colonies can have eye-catching morphological features and spatial organization.

Image: A three-dimensional confocal stack of a Bacillus subtilis colony growing on agarose. Images were taken at the Haseloff lab within the Department of Plant Sciences.

Textured colony

by Valerie A. Ray and Karen L. Visick, Loyola University Chicago

Under certain conditions, Vibrio fischeri can form biofilms, as shown here by the formation of a "wrinkled" colony with substantial three-dimensional architecture.

Image: Vibrio fischeri was spotted onto and grown on solid agar and this image was captured using a Zeiss Stemi 2000-C dissecting scope.

What happens when you rinse?

by Shoji Takenaka, Betsey Pitts, Phil Stewart, Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University

Have you ever wondered what your mouthwash is doing to the biofilms in your mouth?

Movie: Oral bacteria in a biofilm, shown in pink, red and yellow, lose fluorescence as a commercially available mouthwash penetrates the biofilm clusters. Time-lapse laser scanning confocal imaging, using a Leica TCS -SP5 II confocal microscope, 40X objective magnification.

Fungal biofilm in 3D

by Frederick Lanni, Haibing Teng, Jonathan Finkel, and Aaron Mitchell, Carnegie Mellon University

Candida albicans wild-type biofilm at 48 hr.

Movie: Image stacks were collected by serial focus imaging from the apical to basal region using Zeiss LSM510 Meta confocal imaging. 3D projections were compiled using Volocity 3D image analysis software, PerkinElmer.

Treating fungal infections

by Nicole Robbins (University of Toronto), Ranjith Rajendran (University of Glasgow ), Gordon Ramage (University of Glasgow ), and Leah E. Cowen (University of Toronto)

Some biofilms can be deadly, especially in immunocompromised individuals. Serious fungal infections such as invasive aspergillosis require aggressive treatment.

Image: Aspergillus fumigatus biofilm grown in vitro and subjected to voriconazole treatment. Image was obtained with a scanning electron microscope (Leo 435 VP) in the high-vacuum mode at 15 kV (Magnification 500X).

What happens when the chaperone is not around?

by Nicole Robbins (University of Toronto), Ranjith Rajendran (University of Glasgow ), Gordon Ramage (University of Glasgow ), and Leah E. Cowen (University of Toronto)

Treatment of an Aspergillus fumigatus biofilm with caspofungin and the Hsp90 inhibitor geldanamycin induces cellular damage.

Image: Image was obtained with a scanning electron microscope (Leo 435 VP) in the high-vacuum mode at 15 kV. (Magnification 500X).