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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2000, p. 3249-3254, Vol. 66, No. 8
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Use of Self-Assembled Monolayers of Different Wettabilities To Study Surface Selection and Primary Adhesion Processes of Green Algal (Enteromorpha) Zoospores

Maureen E. Callow,1,* J. A. Callow,1 Linnea K. Ista,2 Sarah E. Coleman,2 Aleece C. Nolasco,2 and Gabriel P. López2

School of Biosciences, The University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom,1 and Department of Chemical and Nuclear Engineering, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico 871312

Received 30 March 2000/Accepted 16 May 2000

We investigated surface selection and adhesion of motile zoospores of a green, macrofouling alga (Enteromorpha) to self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) having a range of wettabilities. The SAMs were formed from alkyl thiols terminated with methyl (CH3) or hydroxyl (OH) groups or mixtures of CH3- and OH-terminated alkyl thiols and were characterized by measuring the advancing contact angles and by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. There was a positive correlation between the number of spores that attached to the SAMs and increasing contact angle (hydrophobicity). Moreover, the sizes of the spore groups (adjacent spores touching) were larger on the hydrophobic SAMs. Video microscopy of a patterned arrangement of SAMs showed that more zoospores were engaged in swimming and "searching" above the hydrophobic sectors than above the hydrophilic sectors, suggesting that the cells were able to "sense" that the hydrophobic surfaces were more favorable for settlement. The results are discussed in relation to the attachment of microorganisms to substrata having different wettabilities.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Biosciences, The University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom. Phone: 44 121 414 5579. Fax: 44 121 414 5925. E-mail: m.e.callow{at}bham.ac.uk.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, August 2000, p. 3249-3254, Vol. 66, No. 8
0099-2240/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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