title: Single-species microbial biofilm screening for industrial applications.
abstract: While natural microbial biofilms often consist of multiple species, single-species biofilms are of great interest to biotechnology. The current study evaluates biofilm formation for common industrial and laboratory microorganisms. A total of 68 species of biosafety level one bacteria and yeasts from over 40 different genera and five phyla were screened by growing them in microtiter plates and estimating attached biomass by crystal violet staining. Most organisms showed biofilm formation on surfaces of polystyrene within 24 h. By changing a few simple conditions such as substratum characteristics, inoculum and nutrient availability, 66 strains (97%) demonstrated biofilm formation under at least one of the experimental conditions and over half of these strains were classified as strong biofilm formers, potentially suitable as catalysts in biofilm applications. Many non-motile bacteria were also strong biofilm formers. Biofilm morphologies were visualized for selected strains. A model organism, Zymomonas mobilis, easily established itself as a biofilm on various reactor packing materials, including stainless steel.
authors.affiliation: School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
authors.forename: Xuan Zhong
authors.initials: XZ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Bernhard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hauer
authors.forename: Bettina
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Rosche
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000254:growth & development*; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D002384:Catalysis; D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; D005898:Glass; D007221:Industry; D011126:Polypropylenes; D012828:Silicones; D013193:Stainless Steel; D015003:Yeasts / Q000254:growth & development*
chemical_list: D004129:Dimethylpolysiloxanes; D011126:Polypropylenes; D012828:Silicones; D013193:Stainless Steel; C013830:baysilon