Biofilms in chronic infections - a matter of opportunity - monospecies biofilms in multispecies infections

Mette Burmølle, Trine Rolighed Thomsen, Mustafa Fazli, Irene Dige, Lise Christensen, Preben Homøe, Michael Tvede, Bente Nyvad, Tim Tolker-Nielsen, Michael Givskov, Claus Ernst Moser, Klaus Kirketerp-Møller, Helle Krogh Johansen, Niels Høiby, Peter Østrup Jensen, Søren Johannes Sørensen, Thomas Bjarnsholt

Research output: Contribution to journalReviewResearchpeer-review

328 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

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.
Translated title of the contributionBiofilms in chronic infections - a matter of opportunity - monospecies biofilms in multispecies infections
Original languageEnglish
JournalFEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology
Volume59
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)324-336
Number of pages13
ISSN0928-8244
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2010

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