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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2006, p. 1613-1622, Vol. 72, No. 2
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.2.1613-1622.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Temperature-Regulated Formation of Mycelial Mat-Like Biofilms by Legionella pneumophila

Zhenyu Piao,1 Chun Chau Sze,2* Oksana Barysheva,1 Ken-ichiro Iida,1 and Shin-ichi Yoshida1

Department of Bacteriology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka 812-8582, Japan,1 School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637551, Singapore2

Received 8 August 2005/ Accepted 18 November 2005

Fifty strains representing 38 species of the genus Legionella were examined for biofilm formation on glass, polystyrene, and polypropylene surfaces in static cultures at 25°C, 37°C, and 42°C. Strains of Legionella pneumophila, the most common causative agent of Legionnaires' disease, were found to have the highest ability to form biofilms among the test strains. The quantity, rate of formation, and adherence stability of L. pneumophila biofilms showed considerable dependence on both temperature and surface material. Glass and polystyrene surfaces gave between two- to sevenfold-higher yields of biofilms at 37°C or 42°C than at 25°C; conversely, polypropylene surface had between 2 to 16 times higher yields at 25°C than at 37°C or 42°C. On glass surfaces, the biofilms were formed faster but attached less stably at 37°C or 42°C than at 25°C. Both scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that biofilms formed at 37°C or 42°C were mycelial mat like and were composed of filamentous cells, while at 25°C, cells were rod shaped. Planktonic cells outside of biofilms or in shaken liquid cultures were rod shaped. Notably, the filamentous cells were found to be multinucleate and lacking septa, but a recA null mutant of L. pneumophila was unaffected in its temperature-regulated filamentation within biofilms. Our data also showed that filamentous cells were able to rapidly give rise to a large number of short rods in a fresh liquid culture at 37°C. The possibility of this biofilm to represent a novel strategy by L. pneumophila to compete for proliferation among the environmental microbiota is discussed.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 60 Nanyang Drive, Singapore 637551, Singapore. Phone: 65-6316 2872. Fax: 65-6791 3856. E-mail: ccsze{at}ntu.edu.sg.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, February 2006, p. 1613-1622, Vol. 72, No. 2
0099-2240/06/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.72.2.1613-1622.2006
Copyright © 2006, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Soderberg, M. A., Dao, J., Starkenburg, S. R., Cianciotto, N. P. (2008). Importance of Type II Secretion for Survival of Legionella pneumophila in Tap Water and in Amoebae at Low Temperatures. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 5583-5588 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Soderberg, M. A., Cianciotto, N. P. (2008). A Legionella pneumophila Peptidyl-Prolyl cis-trans Isomerase Present in Culture Supernatants Is Necessary for Optimal Growth at Low Temperatures. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 1634-1638 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Hindre, T., Bruggemann, H., Buchrieser, C., Hechard, Y. (2008). Transcriptional profiling of Legionella pneumophila biofilm cells and the influence of iron on biofilm formation. Microbiology 154: 30-41 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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