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Nitric oxide-mediated dispersal in single- and multi-species biofilms of clinically and industrially relevant microorganisms

Nitric oxide-mediated dispersal in single- and multi-species biofilms of clinically and industrially relevant microorganisms
Nitric oxide-mediated dispersal in single- and multi-species biofilms of clinically and industrially relevant microorganisms
Strategies to induce biofilm dispersal are of interest due to their potential to prevent biofilm formation and biofilm-related infections. Nitric oxide (NO), an important messenger molecule in biological systems, was previously identified as a signal for dispersal in biofilms of the model organism Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In the present study, the use of NO as an anti-biofilm agent more broadly was assessed. Various NO donors, at concentrations estimated to generate NO levels in the picomolar and low nanomolar range, were tested on single-species biofilms of relevant microorganisms and on multi-species biofilms from water distribution and treatment systems. Nitric oxide-induced dispersal was observed in all biofilms assessed, and the average reduction of total biofilm surface was 63%. Moreover, biofilms exposed to low doses of NO were more susceptible to antimicrobial treatments than untreated biofilms. For example, the efficacy of conventional chlorine treatments at removing multi-species biofilms from water systems was increased by 20-fold in biofilms treated with NO compared with untreated biofilms. These data suggest that combined treatments with NO may allow for novel and improved strategies to control biofilms and have widespread applications in many environmental, industrial and clinical settings.

1751-7907
370-378
Barraud, Nicolas
01e480a6-d225-44eb-acde-433c5b24bb82
Storey, Michael V.
97c554c4-0f23-4768-8dbe-630d0dfba095
Moore, Zoe P.
fa2c69eb-51e9-40e4-a453-86436054327b
Webb, Jeremy S.
ec0a5c4e-86cc-4ae9-b390-7298f5d65f8d
Rice, Scott A.
4f9516db-1d35-4211-878c-bb6cfb2a6b4a
Kjelleberg, Staffan
043b66b5-130c-42f2-99b3-ec3eecf3248e
Barraud, Nicolas
01e480a6-d225-44eb-acde-433c5b24bb82
Storey, Michael V.
97c554c4-0f23-4768-8dbe-630d0dfba095
Moore, Zoe P.
fa2c69eb-51e9-40e4-a453-86436054327b
Webb, Jeremy S.
ec0a5c4e-86cc-4ae9-b390-7298f5d65f8d
Rice, Scott A.
4f9516db-1d35-4211-878c-bb6cfb2a6b4a
Kjelleberg, Staffan
043b66b5-130c-42f2-99b3-ec3eecf3248e

Barraud, Nicolas, Storey, Michael V., Moore, Zoe P., Webb, Jeremy S., Rice, Scott A. and Kjelleberg, Staffan (2009) Nitric oxide-mediated dispersal in single- and multi-species biofilms of clinically and industrially relevant microorganisms. Microbial Biotechnology, 2 (3), 370-378. (doi:10.1111/j.1751-7915.2009.00098.x). (PMID:21261931)

Record type: Article

Abstract

Strategies to induce biofilm dispersal are of interest due to their potential to prevent biofilm formation and biofilm-related infections. Nitric oxide (NO), an important messenger molecule in biological systems, was previously identified as a signal for dispersal in biofilms of the model organism Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In the present study, the use of NO as an anti-biofilm agent more broadly was assessed. Various NO donors, at concentrations estimated to generate NO levels in the picomolar and low nanomolar range, were tested on single-species biofilms of relevant microorganisms and on multi-species biofilms from water distribution and treatment systems. Nitric oxide-induced dispersal was observed in all biofilms assessed, and the average reduction of total biofilm surface was 63%. Moreover, biofilms exposed to low doses of NO were more susceptible to antimicrobial treatments than untreated biofilms. For example, the efficacy of conventional chlorine treatments at removing multi-species biofilms from water systems was increased by 20-fold in biofilms treated with NO compared with untreated biofilms. These data suggest that combined treatments with NO may allow for novel and improved strategies to control biofilms and have widespread applications in many environmental, industrial and clinical settings.

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Published date: May 2009

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 186799
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/186799
ISSN: 1751-7907
PURE UUID: 74746de4-84a0-4864-9ec2-59ef827950dd
ORCID for Jeremy S. Webb: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-2068-8589

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Date deposited: 16 May 2011 10:16
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:26

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Contributors

Author: Nicolas Barraud
Author: Michael V. Storey
Author: Zoe P. Moore
Author: Jeremy S. Webb ORCID iD
Author: Scott A. Rice
Author: Staffan Kjelleberg

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