title: Bacterial-bacterial cell interactions in biofilms: detection of polysaccharide intercellular adhesins by blotting and confocal microscopy.
abstract: Adhesive interactions between bacterial cells coupled with adherence to a solid surface can lead to the formation of a biofilm. The important role of biofilm formation in the pathogenesis of certain types of infection, especially those involving indwelling medical devices, is becoming increasingly apparent. Critical to the development of a biofilm is the elaboration of exo-polysaccharide that contributes to substrate and intercellular adhesion. The synthesis and secretion of large exo-polysaccharides is a metabolically expensive process and is therefore often suppressed under conditions that favor the planktonic mode of growth. One way to identify the environmental cues that cause a given bacterial species to switch to the biofilm mode of growth is to monitor exo-polysaccharide elaboration in vitro. The exo-polysaccharide involved in biofilm formation in a number of bacterial species is a polymer of N-acetyl-glucosamine. In this chapter, we outline two methods that use wheat germ agglutinin, a lectin that binds to N-acetyl-glucosamine, to evaluate extracellular polysaccharide production by a variety of bacterial species.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, USA.
authors.forename: Kimberly K
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Jefferson
authors.forename: Nuno
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cerca
mesh_terms: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development*; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D015964:Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D018829:Adhesins, Bacterial; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; C113579:polysaccharide intercellular adhesin