This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hunt, S. M.
Right arrow Articles by Stewart, P. S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hunt, S. M.
Right arrow Articles by Stewart, P. S.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Hunt, S. M.
Right arrow Articles by Stewart, P. S.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2004, p. 7418-7425, Vol. 70, No. 12
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.12.7418-7425.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Hypothesis for the Role of Nutrient Starvation in Biofilm Detachment

Stephen M. Hunt, Erin M. Werner, Baochuan Huang, Martin A. Hamilton, and Philip S. Stewart*

Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana

Received 18 March 2004/ Accepted 25 July 2004

A combination of experimental and theoretical approaches was used to investigate the role of nutrient starvation as a potential trigger for biofilm detachment. Experimental observations of detachment in a variety of biofilm systems were made with pure cultures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These observations indicated that biofilms grown under continuous-flow conditions detached after flow was stopped, that hollow cell clusters were sometimes observed in biofilms grown in flow cells, and that lysed cells were apparent in the internal strata of colony biofilms. When biofilms were nutrient starved under continuous-flow conditions, detachment still occurred, suggesting that starvation and not the accumulation of a metabolic product was responsible for triggering detachment in this particular system. A cellular automata computer model of biofilm dynamics was used to explore the starvation-dependent detachment mechanism. The model predicted biofilm structures and dynamics that were qualitatively similar to those observed experimentally. The predicted features included centrally located voids appearing in sufficiently large cell clusters, gradients in growth rate within these clusters, and the release of most of the biofilm with simulated stopped-flow conditions. The model was also able to predict biofilm sloughing resulting solely from this detachment mechanism. These results support the conjecture that nutrient starvation is an environmental cue for the release of microbes from a biofilm.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717-3980. Phone: (406) 994-2890. Fax: (406) 994-6098. E-mail: phil_s{at}erc.montana.edu.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, December 2004, p. 7418-7425, Vol. 70, No. 12
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.12.7418-7425.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Poimenidou, S., Belessi, C. A., Giaouris, E. D., Gounadaki, A. S., Nychas, G.-J. E., Skandamis, P. N. (2009). Listeria monocytogenes Attachment to and Detachment from Stainless Steel Surfaces in a Simulated Dairy Processing Environment. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 7182-7188 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Takenaka, S., Trivedi, H. M., Corbin, A., Pitts, B., Stewart, P. S. (2008). Direct Visualization of Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Antimicrobial Action within Model Oral Biofilms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 1869-1875 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Barraud, N., Hassett, D. J., Hwang, S.-H., Rice, S. A., Kjelleberg, S., Webb, J. S. (2006). Involvement of Nitric Oxide in Biofilm Dispersal of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.. J. Bacteriol. 188: 7344-7353 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Mai-Prochnow, A., Webb, J. S., Ferrari, B. C., Kjelleberg, S. (2006). Ecological Advantages of Autolysis during the Development and Dispersal of Pseudoalteromonas tunicata Biofilms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 5414-5420 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Midelet, G., Kobilinsky, A., Carpentier, B. (2006). Construction and Analysis of Fractional Multifactorial Designs To Study Attachment Strength and Transfer of Listeria monocytogenes from Pure or Mixed Biofilms after Contact with a Solid Model Food. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 2313-2321 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Xavier, J. B., Picioreanu, C., Rani, S. A., van Loosdrecht, M. C. M., Stewart, P. S. (2005). Biofilm-control strategies based on enzymic disruption of the extracellular polymeric substance matrix - a modelling study. Microbiology 151: 3817-3832 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kirisits, M. J., Prost, L., Starkey, M., Parsek, M. R. (2005). Characterization of Colony Morphology Variants Isolated from Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 4809-4821 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»