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 Lawrence, J. R.
Right arrow Articles by Hitchcock, A. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lawrence, J. R.
Right arrow Articles by Hitchcock, A. P.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Lawrence, J. R.
Right arrow Articles by Hitchcock, A. P.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2003, p. 5543-5554, Vol. 69, No. 9
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.9.5543-5554.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Scanning Transmission X-Ray, Laser Scanning, and Transmission Electron Microscopy Mapping of the Exopolymeric Matrix of Microbial Biofilms

J. R. Lawrence,1* G. D. W. Swerhone,1 G. G. Leppard,2 T. Araki,3 X. Zhang,3 M. M. West,4 and A. P. Hitchcock3

National Water Research Institute, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 3H5,1 NWRI, Burlington, Ontario, Canada L7R 4A6,2 Brockhouse Institute for Materials Research, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8S 4M1,3 Electron Microscopy Facility, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z54

Received 3 April 2003/ Accepted 29 June 2003

Confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and soft X-ray scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) were used to map the distribution of macromolecular subcomponents (e.g., polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids) of biofilm cells and matrix. The biofilms were developed from river water supplemented with methanol, and although they comprised a complex microbial community, the biofilms were dominated by heterotrophic bacteria. TEM provided the highest-resolution structural imaging, CLSM provided detailed compositional information when used in conjunction with molecular probes, and STXM provided compositional mapping of macromolecule distributions without the addition of probes. By examining exactly the same region of a sample with combinations of these techniques (STXM with CLSM and STXM with TEM), we demonstrate that this combination of multimicroscopy analysis can be used to create a detailed correlative map of biofilm structure and composition. We are using these correlative techniques to improve our understanding of the biochemical basis for biofilm organization and to assist studies intended to investigate and optimize biofilms for environmental remediation applications.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: National Water Research Institute, 11 Innovation Blvd., Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada S7N 3H5. Phone: (306) 975-5789. Fax: (306) 975-5143. E-mail: John.Lawrence{at}ec.gc.ca.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, September 2003, p. 5543-5554, Vol. 69, No. 9
0099-2240/03/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.69.9.5543-5554.2003
Copyright © 2003, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Palsdottir, H., Remis, J. P., Schaudinn, C., O'Toole, E., Lux, R., Shi, W., McDonald, K. L., Costerton, J. W., Auer, M. (2009). Three-Dimensional Macromolecular Organization of Cryofixed Myxococcus xanthus Biofilms as Revealed by Electron Microscopic Tomography. J. Bacteriol. 191: 2077-2082 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Yawata, Y., Nomura, N., Uchiyama, H. (2008). Development of a Novel Biofilm Continuous Culture Method for Simultaneous Assessment of Architecture and Gaseous Metabolite Production. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 5429-5435 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Weimer, P. J., Price, N. P. J., Kroukamp, O., Joubert, L.-M., Wolfaardt, G. M., Van Zyl, W. H. (2006). Studies of the Extracellular Glycocalyx of the Anaerobic Cellulolytic Bacterium Ruminococcus albus 7. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 7559-7566 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Yang, Y., Sreenivasan, P. K., Subramanyam, R., Cummins, D. (2006). Multiparameter assessments to determine the effects of sugars and antimicrobials on a polymicrobial oral biofilm.. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 6734-6742 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Kinyangi, J., Solomon, D., Liang, B., Lerotic, M., Wirick, S., Lehmann, J. (2006). Nanoscale Biogeocomplexity of the Organomineral Assemblage in Soil: Application of STXM Microscopy and C 1s-NEXAFS Spectroscopy. Soil Sci. 70: 1708-1718 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cerca, N., Jefferson, K. K., Oliveira, R., Pier, G. B., Azeredo, J. (2006). Comparative Antibody-Mediated Phagocytosis of Staphylococcus epidermidis Cells Grown in a Biofilm or in the Planktonic State.. Infect. Immun. 74: 4849-4855 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Benzerara, K., Menguy, N., Lopez-Garcia, P., Yoon, T.-H., Kazmierczak, J., Tyliszczak, T., Guyot, F., Brown, G. E. Jr. (2006). Nanoscale detection of organic signatures in carbonate microbialites. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103: 9440-9445 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Cerca, N., Martins, S., Sillankorva, S., Jefferson, K. K., Pier, G. B., Oliveira, R., Azeredo, J. (2005). Effects of Growth in the Presence of Subinhibitory Concentrations of Dicloxacillin on Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus haemolyticus Biofilms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 8677-8682 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hunter, R. C., Beveridge, T. J. (2005). High-Resolution Visualization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAO1 Biofilms by Freeze-Substitution Transmission Electron Microscopy. J. Bacteriol. 187: 7619-7630 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Obst, M., Gasser, P., Mavrocordatos, D., Dittrich, M. (2005). TEM-specimen preparation of cell/mineral interfaces by Focused Ion Beam milling. American Mineralogist 90: 1270-1277 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hu, Z., Hidalgo, G., Houston, P. L., Hay, A. G., Shuler, M. L., Abruna, H. D., Ghiorse, W. C., Lion, L. W. (2005). Determination of Spatial Distributions of Zinc and Active Biomass in Microbial Biofilms by Two-Photon Laser Scanning Microscopy. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71: 4014-4021 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Benzerara, K., Yoon, T. H., Menguy, N., Tyliszczak, T., Brown, G. E. Jr. (2005). Nanoscale environments associated with bioweathering of a Mg-Fe-pyroxene. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 102: 979-982 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Gilbert, P. U. P. A., Abrecht, M., Frazer, B. H. (2005). The Organic-Mineral Interface in Biominerals. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 59: 157-185 [Full Text]  
  • Chan, C. S., De Stasio, G., Welch, S. A., Girasole, M., Frazer, B. H., Nesterova, M. V., Fakra, S., Banfield, J. F. (2004). Microbial Polysaccharides Template Assembly of Nanocrystal Fibers. Science 303: 1656-1658 [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»