Bacterial biofilms: from the natural environment to infectious diseases
Hall-Stoodley, Luanne, Costerton, J. William and Stoodley, Paul (2004) Bacterial biofilms: from the natural environment to infectious diseases. Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2, (2), 95-108. (doi:10.1038/nrmicro821).
Download
Full text not available from this repository.
Description/Abstract
Biofilms — matrix-enclosed microbial accretions that adhere to biological or non-biological surfaces — represent a significant and incompletely understood mode of growth for bacteria. Biofilm formation appears early in the fossil record (3.25 billion years ago) and is common throughout a diverse range of organisms in both the Archaea and Bacteria lineages, including the 'living fossils' in the most deeply dividing branches of the phylogenetic tree. It is evident that biofilm formation is an ancient and integral component of the prokaryotic life cycle, and is a key factor for survival in diverse environments. Recent advances show that biofilms are structurally complex, dynamic systems with attributes of both primordial multicellular organisms and multifaceted ecosystems. Biofilm formation represents a protected mode of growth that allows cells to survive in hostile environments and also disperse to colonize new niches. The implications of these survival and propagative mechanisms in the context of both the natural environment and infectious diseases are discussed in this review.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| ISSNs: | 1740-1526 (print) |
| Related URLs: | |
| Subjects: | Q Science > QR Microbiology |
| Divisions: | University Structure - Pre August 2011 > School of Engineering Sciences > Engineering Materials & Surface Engineering |
| Item ID: | 155911 |
| Date Deposited: | 09 Jun 2010 10:50 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Aug 2012 03:12 |
| Contributors: | Hall-Stoodley, Luanne (Author) Costerton, J. William (Author) Stoodley, Paul (Author) |
| Date: | February 2004 |
| Status: | Published |
| URI: | http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/155911 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
