Rhamnolipids mediate detachment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from biofilms
- 22 July 2005
- journal article
- Published by Wiley in Molecular Microbiology
- Vol. 57 (5), 1210-1223
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2958.2005.04743.x
Abstract
The process of detachment, through which bacteria use active mechanisms to leave biofilms and return to the planktonic (free-living) state, is perhaps the least understood aspect of the biofilm life cycle. Like other stages of biofilm development, detachment is a dynamic, regulated process, controlled by specific genes, and induced by particular environmental cues. In previous work we discovered Pseudomonas aeruginosa variants that exhibit accelerated biofilm detachment. These hyper-detaching variants arise spontaneously from biofilms at a high frequency, and they exhibit robust detachment under different biofilm growth conditions. Here we show that these variants detach by a mechanism requiring the biosurfactant rhamnolipid and that this detachment mechanism rapidly restores antibiotic sensitivity to separating bacteria. We also show that rhamnolipids can bring about detachment in wild-type P. aeruginosa biofilms. These findings raise the possibility that this detachment mechanism may be useful as a treatment to disrupt established biofilms. Interestingly, the rhamnolipid-mediated detachment mechanism involves the formation of cavities within the centre of biofilm structures. Our data suggest a model to explain detachment that occurs via this pattern.Keywords
This publication has 59 references indexed in Scilit:
- Characterization of Nutrient-Induced Dispersion in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 BiofilmJournal of Bacteriology, 2004
- Involvement of bacterial migration in the development of complex multicellular structures in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilmsMolecular Microbiology, 2003
- Detachment of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans Biofilm Cells by an Endogenous β-Hexosaminidase ActivityJournal of Bacteriology, 2003
- Resident Parking Only: Rhamnolipids Maintain Fluid Channels in BiofilmsJournal of Bacteriology, 2003
- Rhamnolipid Surfactant Production Affects Biofilm Architecture in Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1Journal of Bacteriology, 2003
- Mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in bacterial biofilmsInternational Journal of Medical Microbiology, 2002
- Physicochemical characterization and antimicrobial properties of rhamnolipids produced byPseudomonas aeruginosa47T2 NCBIM 40044Biotechnology & Bioengineering, 2002
- Natural roles of biosurfactantsEnvironmental Microbiology, 2001
- THINKING ABOUT BACTERIAL POPULATIONS AS MULTICELLULAR ORGANISMSAnnual Review of Microbiology, 1998
- Extracellular products as mediators of the formation and detachment ofPseudomonas fluorescensbiofilmsFEMS Microbiology Letters, 1998