The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Bacterial biofilms: from the natural environment to infectious diseases

Bacterial biofilms: from the natural environment to infectious diseases
Bacterial biofilms: from the natural environment to infectious diseases
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.
1740-1526
95-108
Hall-Stoodley, Luanne
94ebdc00-b549-4488-b15f-5310fb965f5b
Costerton, J. William
3561239b-c96e-41af-9228-4fc120466c4b
Stoodley, Paul
08614665-92a9-4466-806e-20c6daeb483f
Hall-Stoodley, Luanne
94ebdc00-b549-4488-b15f-5310fb965f5b
Costerton, J. William
3561239b-c96e-41af-9228-4fc120466c4b
Stoodley, Paul
08614665-92a9-4466-806e-20c6daeb483f

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).

Record type: Article

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.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: February 2004
Organisations: Engineering Mats & Surface Engineerg Gp

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 155911
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/155911
ISSN: 1740-1526
PURE UUID: 95550162-9873-4b74-b1eb-e3d7c528ee4a
ORCID for Paul Stoodley: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-6069-273X

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 09 Jun 2010 10:50
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 02:55

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Luanne Hall-Stoodley
Author: J. William Costerton
Author: Paul Stoodley ORCID iD

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×