Displacement of Enterococcus faecalis from hydrophobic and hydrophilic substrata by Lactobacillus and Streptococcus spp. as studied in a parallel plate flow chamber.
The displacement of Enterococcus faecalis 1131 from hydrophobic and hydrophilic substrata by isolates of Lactobacillus casei 36 and Streptococcus hyointestinalis KM1 was studied in a parallel plate flow chamber. The experiments were conducted with either 10 mM potassium phosphate buffer or human urine as the suspending fluid, and adhesion and displacement were measured by real-time in situ image analysis. The results showed that E. faecalis 1131 was displaced by lactobacilli (31%) and streptococci (74%) from fluorinated ethylene propylene in buffer and that displacement by lactobacilli was even more effective on a glass substratum in urine (54%). The passage of an air-liquid interface significantly impacted on adhesion, especially when the surface had been challenged with lactobacilli (up to 100% displacement) or streptococci (up to 94% displacement). These results showed that the parallel plate flow system with real-time in situ image analysis was effective for studying bacterial adhesion and that uropathogenic enterococci can be displaced by indigenous bacteria.
Millsap
K
K
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
Reid
G
G
van der Mei
H C
HC
Busscher
H J
HJ
D000328:Adult; D000898:Antibiosis / Q000502:physiology*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000502:physiology; D013293:Enterococcus faecalis / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000502:physiology*; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology