title: Biofilms of a Bacillus subtilis hospital isolate protect Staphylococcus aureus from biocide action.
abstract: The development of a biofilm constitutes a survival strategy by providing bacteria a protective environment safe from stresses such as microbicide action and can thus lead to important health-care problems. In this study, biofilm resistance of a Bacillus subtilis strain (called hereafter ND(medical)) recently isolated from endoscope washer-disinfectors to peracetic acid was investigated and its ability to protect the pathogen Staphylococcus aureus in mixed biofilms was evaluated. Biocide action within Bacillus subtilis biofilms was visualised in real time using a non-invasive 4D confocal imaging method. The resistance of single species and mixed biofilms to peracetic acid was quantified using standard plate counting methods and their architecture was explored using confocal imaging and electronic microscopy. The results showed that the ND(medical) strain demonstrates the ability to make very large amount of biofilm together with hyper-resistance to the concentration of PAA used in many formulations (3500 ppm). Evidences strongly suggest that the enhanced resistance of the ND(medical) strain was related to the specific three-dimensional structure of the biofilm and the large amount of the extracellular matrix produced which can hinder the penetration of peracetic acid. When grown in mixed biofilm with Staphylococcus aureus, the ND(medical) strain demonstrated the ability to protect the pathogen from PAA action, thus enabling its persistence in the environment. This work points out the ability of bacteria to adapt to an extremely hostile environment, and the necessity of considering multi-organism ecosystems instead of single species model to decipher the mechanisms of biofilm resistance to antimicrobials agents.
authors.affiliation: INRA, UMR 1319 MICALIS, Jouy-en-Josas, France.
authors.forename: Arnaud
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bridier
authors.forename: Maria Del Pilar
authors.initials: Mdel P
authors.lastname: Sanchez-Vizuete
authors.forename: Dominique
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Le Coq
authors.forename: Stéphane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aymerich
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Meylheuc
authors.forename: Jean-Yves
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Maillard
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Dubois-Brissonnet
authors.forename: Romain
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Briandet
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001412:Bacillus subtilis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D018441:Biofilms / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development*; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D003224:Congo Red; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000633:toxicity*; D006761:Hospitals; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D010463:Peracetic Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D004202:Disinfectants; D003224:Congo Red; D010463:Peracetic Acid