title: Living together in biofilms: the microbial cell factory and its biotechnological implications.
abstract: In nature, bacteria alternate between two modes of growth: a unicellular life phase, in which the cells are free-swimming (planktonic), and a multicellular life phase, in which the cells are sessile and live in a biofilm, that can be defined as surface-associated microbial heterogeneous structures comprising different populations of microorganisms surrounded by a self-produced matrix that allows their attachment to inert or organic surfaces. While a unicellular life phase allows for bacterial dispersion and the colonization of new environments, biofilms allow sessile cells to live in a coordinated, more permanent manner that favors their proliferation. In this alternating cycle, bacteria accomplish two physiological transitions via differential gene expression: (i) from planktonic cells to sessile cells within a biofilm, and (ii) from sessile to detached, newly planktonic cells. Many of the innate characteristics of biofilm bacteria are of biotechnological interest, such as the synthesis of valuable compounds (e.g., surfactants, ethanol) and the enhancement/processing of certain foods (e.g., table olives). Understanding the ecology of biofilm formation will allow the design of systems that will facilitate making products of interest and improve their yields.
authors.affiliation: Section Microbiology, Department of Biology, Health and Environment, Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences, University of Barcelona, Av. Joan XXIII, s/n, 08028, Barcelona, Spain. mberlanga@ub.edu.
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berlanga
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Molecular Microbiology and Antimicrobials, Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain.|Barcelona Knowledge Hub, Academia Europaea, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Guerrero
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000378:metabolism; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D018441:Biofilms; D001709:Biotechnology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000378:metabolism; D059013:Microbial Consortia / Q000502:physiology; D013501:Surface-Active Agents / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D013501:Surface-Active Agents; D000431:Ethanol
keywords: Biofilms as cell factories; Living together; Protein BlsA; Surfactants; Synthetic microbial communities