AEM
Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Supplemental material
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 Banin, E.
Right arrow Articles by Greenberg, E. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Banin, E.
Right arrow Articles by Greenberg, E. P.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Banin, E.
Right arrow Articles by Greenberg, E. P.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2006, p. 2064-2069, Vol. 72, No. 3
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.3.2064-2069.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Chelator-Induced Dispersal and Killing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Cells in a Biofilm{dagger}

Ehud Banin,1 Keith M. Brady,2 and E. Peter Greenberg1*

Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-7242,1 Department of Microbiology, Roy and Lucille Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 522422

Received 2 November 2005/ Accepted 20 December 2005

Biofilms consist of groups of bacteria attached to surfaces and encased in a hydrated polymeric matrix. Bacteria in biofilms are more resistant to the immune system and to antibiotics than their free-living planktonic counterparts. Thus, biofilm-related infections are persistent and often show recurrent symptoms. The metal chelator EDTA is known to have activity against biofilms of gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus. EDTA can also kill planktonic cells of Proteobacteria like Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In this study we demonstrate that EDTA is a potent P. aeruginosa biofilm disrupter. In Tris buffer, EDTA treatment of P. aeruginosa biofilms results in 1,000-fold greater killing than treatment with the P. aeruginosa antibiotic gentamicin. Furthermore, a combination of EDTA and gentamicin results in complete killing of biofilm cells. P. aeruginosa biofilms can form structured mushroom-like entities when grown under flow on a glass surface. Time lapse confocal scanning laser microscopy shows that EDTA causes a dispersal of P. aeruginosa cells from biofilms and killing of biofilm cells within the mushroom-like structures. An examination of the influence of several divalent cations on the antibiofilm activity of EDTA indicates that magnesium, calcium, and iron protect P. aeruginosa biofilms against EDTA treatment. Our results are consistent with a mechanism whereby EDTA causes detachment and killing of biofilm cells.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Box 357242, Department of Microbiology, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195-7242. Phone: (206) 616-2881. Fax: (206) 616-2938. E-mail: epgreen{at}u.washington.edu.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://aem.asm.org/.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, March 2006, p. 2064-2069, Vol. 72, No. 3
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.3.2064-2069.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:



Home Help [Feedback] [For Subscribers] [Archive] [Search] [Contents]
J. Bacteriol. Microbiol. Mol. Biol. Rev. Eukaryot. Cell All ASM Journals

Copyright © 2006 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.