CO 2 Production as an Indicator of Biofilm Metabolism
Open Access
- 1 July 2009
- journal article
- Published by American Society for Microbiology in Applied and Environmental Microbiology
- Vol. 75 (13), 4391-4397
- https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.01567-08
Abstract
Biofilms are important in aquatic nutrient cycling and microbial proliferation. In these structures, nutrients like carbon are channeled into the production of extracellular polymeric substances or cell division; both are vital for microbial survival and propagation. The aim of this study was to assess carbon channeling into cellular or noncellular fractions in biofilms. Growing in tubular reactors, biofilms of our model strain Pseudomonas sp. strain CT07 produced cells to the planktonic phase from the early stages of biofilm development, reaching pseudo steady state with a consistent yield of ∼10 7 cells·cm −2 ·h −1 within 72 h. Total direct counts and image analysis showed that most of the converted carbon occurred in the noncellular fraction, with the released and sessile cells accounting for 2 evolution measurement system (CEMS) that monitored CO 2 in the gas phase was developed to perform a complete carbon balance across the biofilm. The measurement system was able to determine whole-biofilm CO 2 production rates in real time and showed that gaseous CO 2 production accounted for 25% of inflowing carbon. In addition, the CEMS made it possible to measure biofilm response to changing environmental conditions; changes in temperature or inflowing carbon concentration were followed by a rapid response in biofilm metabolism and the establishment of new steady-state conditions.Keywords
This publication has 61 references indexed in Scilit:
- In Situ Monitoring of the Nascent Pseudomonas fluorescens Biofilm Response to Variations in the Dissolved Organic Carbon Level in Low-Nutrient Water by Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared SpectroscopyApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2007
- Real-Time Monitoring of Streptococcus mutans Biofilm Formation Using a Quartz Crystal MicrobalanceCaries Research, 2007
- Visualisation of transient processes in biofilms by optical coherence tomographyWater Research, 2007
- Cooperation and conflict in microbial biofilmsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2007
- Monitoring Biofilm Thickness Using A Non-Destructive, On-Line, Electrical Capacitance TechniqueEnvironmental Monitoring and Assessment, 2006
- Optical method for long‐term and large‐scale monitoring of spatial biofilm developmentBiotechnology & Bioengineering, 2006
- Planktonic-Cell Yield of a Pseudomonad BiofilmApplied and Environmental Microbiology, 2005
- A balanced model for biofilms developed at different growth and detachment forcesProcess Biochemistry, 2003
- Model of bacterial growth influenced by substrate C:N ratio and concentrationAquatic Microbial Ecology, 1999
- Units of gas permeability constantsJournal of Applied Polymer Science, 1975