Biofilms in chronic infections - a matter of opportunity - monospecies biofilms in multispecies infections.
It has become evident that aggregation or biofilm formation is an important survival mechanism for bacteria in almost any environment. In this review, we summarize recent visualizations of bacterial aggregates in several chronic infections (chronic otitis media, cystic fibrosis, infection due to permanent tissue fillers and chronic wounds) both as to distribution (such as where in the wound bed) and organization (monospecies or multispecies microcolonies). We correlate these biofilm observations to observations of commensal biofilms (dental and intestine) and biofilms in natural ecosystems (soil). The observations of the chronic biofilm infections point toward a trend of low bacterial diversity and sovereign monospecies biofilm aggregates even though the infection in which they reside are multispecies. In contrast to this, commensal and natural biofilm aggregates contain multiple species that are believed to coexist, interact and form biofilms with high bacterial and niche diversity. We discuss these differences from both the diagnostic and the scientific point of view.
Burmølle
Mette
M
Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Thomsen
Trine Rolighed
TR
Fazli
Mustafa
M
Dige
Irene
I
Christensen
Lise
L
Homøe
Preben
P
Tvede
Michael
M
Nyvad
Bente
B
Tolker-Nielsen
Tim
T
Givskov
Michael
M
Moser
Claus
C
Kirketerp-Møller
Klaus
K
Johansen
Helle Krogh
HK
Høiby
Niels
N
Jensen
Peter Østrup
PØ
Sørensen
Søren J
SJ
Bjarnsholt
Thomas
T
D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D044822:Biodiversity; D018441:Biofilms / Q000254:growth & development*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans