Bacteria are able to grow adhered to almost every surface, forming architecturally complex communities termed biofilm. In biofilm, cells grow in multicellular aggregates that are encased in an extracellular matrix produced by the bacteria themselves (1). The extracellular polymeric matrix is an important structural component of biofilm and it plays an important role in the attachment and colonization of microorganisms on a surface also acts as a diffusion barrier to small molecules. Related to this, in biofilm the diffusion of nutrients, vitamins, or cofactors is slower resulting in a bacterial community in which some of cells are metabolically inactive. (2). Bacillus subtilis forms biofilm whose constituent cells are held together by the extracellular matrix and one of the main matrix competent is the protein TasA which is a form of amyloid fibers and binds cells together in the biofilm (3). The matrix, which is composed of polysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acids and water, enables the biofilm to attach to the surfaces. One of the most important functions of the matrix is to protect the bacteria from various stress and factors such as UV radiation, extreme pH values, osmotic pressure, dehydration and antibiotics(4). |
REFERENCES
-Biofilms; Daniel López, Hera Vlamakis and Roberto Kolter Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 2010;2:a000398 originally published online June 2, 2010
1-Branda SS, Vik S, Friedman L, Kolter R. 2005. Biofilms: The matrix revisited. Trends Microbiol 13: 20–26.
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3-Amyloid fibers provide structural integrity to Bacillus subtilis biofilms. Romero, Diego; Aguilar, Claudio; Losick, Richard; Kolter, Roberto Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
4-BİYOFİLMLER: YÜZEYLERDEKİ MİKROBİYAL YAŞAM; İlhan Gün*1, Fatma Yeşim Ekinci2
5-Conservation of genes and processes controlled by the quorum response in bacteria: characterization of genes controlled by the quorum-sensing transcription factor ComA in Bacillus subtilis Natalia Comella and Alan D. Grossman* Department of Biology, Building 68-530, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
6- Grossman, A.D. (1995) Genetic networks controlling the initiation of sporulation and the development of genetic competence in Bacillus subtilis. Ann Rev Genet 29: 477–508.
Lazazzera, B., Palmer, T., Quisel, J., and Grossman, A.D. (1999a) Cell density control of gene expression and development in Bacillus subtilis. In Cell-Cell Signaling in Bacteria. Dunny, G.M., and Winans, S.C. (eds). Washington, DC: American Society for Microbiology Press, pp. 27–46.
Msadek, T. (1999) When the going gets tough: survival strategies and environmental signaling networks in Bacillus subtilis. Trends Microbiol 7: 201–207.
Tortosa, P., and Dubnau, D. (1999) Competence for transformation: a matter of taste. Curr Opin Microbiol 2: 588–592.
7- Grossman, A.D. (1995) Genetic networks controlling the initiation of sporulation and the development of genetic competence in Bacillus subtilis. Ann Rev Genet 29: 477–508.
Lazazzera, B., Palmer, T., Quisel, J., and Grossman, A.D. (1999a) Cell density control of gene expression and development in Bacillus subtilis. In Cell-Cell Signaling in Bacteria. Dunny, G.M., and Winans, S.C. (eds). Washington, DC: American Society for Microbiology Press, pp. 27–46.
Dubnau, D., and Lovett, C.M.J. (2002) Transformation and recombination. In Bacillus subtilis and its Closest Relatives: From Genes to Cells. Sonenshein, A.L., Hoch, J.A., and Losick, R. (eds). Washington, DC: American Society for Microbiology Press, pp. 453–471.
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