Center for Biofilm Engineering News Update:  September, 2002 Volume 5, Issue 9   __________________________________________   Research Highlights   Paper Spotlight    Biofilms: Does Signaling Really Matter? by Paul Stoodley   Prokaryotes have a tendency to flourish on surfaces in microbial communities called biofilms. Generally, biofilms grow most extensively on submerged or moist surfaces such as found in river and marine sediments, industrial water pipes and medical delivery systems such as catheters and endotracheal tubes. Advanced microscopic and molecular visualization techniques reveal that these biofilms can form complex, intricate structures suggesting that the structure has functionality beneficial to the community of organisms living within the biofilms. It has been shown that factors in the growth environment such as nutrient concentration and fluid shear stress can influence biofilm structure, as can communication between the bacteria themselves through cell-cell signaling. However, the relative contribution of external environmental factors and internal biological factors as determinants of structure is not known. Our research looked at hydrodynamics, one of the external factors that may influence the quorum sensing (QS) system in a model Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm. First of all, our research tells us that QS is not the global player in the biofilm formation. Instead biofilm development is a multifactorial process system of interdependence between the growth environment and genetic regulation. Another interesting issue we addressed is the inherent heterogeneity of the biofilms, which makes the structural studies difficult. By using Image Structure Analyzer (ISA) software recently developed at the Center for Biofilm Engineering by Dr. Lewandowski's Structure and Function group, we found structural differences between the QS mutant and the parent biofilms, which were not apparent by eye alone. By growing P. aeruginosa biofilms from wild type and cell signaling mutant strains in high and low flows, we found that although both factors influenced biofilm structure, the flow rate appeared to have the greatest influence. We also demonstrated that biofilms did not require the cell signal OdDHL (which was previously thought to be necessary for the formation of cohesive biofilms) to form strongly adhered biofilms in fast flowing water and that quorum sensing (QS) is not the global player in biofilm formation. By using time-lapse microscopy we found that the biofilms could flow along the walls of the flow cells. The discovery that whole biofilms can flow along surfaces while remaining attached may have important implications in the dissemination of biofilms in medicine, the environment, and industry.  By learning more about the factors influencing biofilm development and behavior, we can advance control strategies of biofilms in disease and industry and also better understand their function in the natural environment. Influence of hydrodynamics and cell signaling on the structure and behavior of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. 2002. Purevdorj, B., Costerton, J.W., and Stoodley, P. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68(9):4457-4464.   _______   ASM Journal Highlight   The above paper, authored by Laura Purevdorj, Bill Costerton, and Paul Stoodley, has been selected for the Journal Highlights section of ASM News. Journal Highlights consist of summaries of the six best ASM journal articles for the month. The paper is referenced below. Also, two movies referenced in the paper can be seen at: http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/Movies/2002/02-M004_005.htm   Influence of hydrodynamics and cell signaling on the structure and behavior of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms. 2002. Purevdorj, B., Costerton, J.W., and Stoodley, P. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 68(9):4457-4464.   _______   NIH Materials Grant   Dr. Mark Shirtliff, has received an NIH Materials Grant for reagents and microarrays (~$200,000) to study Staphylococcus aureus biofilms. He has co-authored nearly 30 science articles and book chapters on the subject of S. aureus biofilms. A recent review article was "Molecular Interactions in Biofilms," Chemistry & Biology, August 2002, 9:859-871. See his resume for a complete publication listing, at http://www.erc.montana.edu/~mshirtliff/  The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has awarded a five-year contract to The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) for the establishment of the Pathogen Functional Genomics Resource Center (PFGRC). The PFGRC is a centralized facility providing the research community with resources necessary to conduct functional genomics research on human pathogens and invertebrate vectors. The PFGRC will provide Dr. Mark Shirtliff with microarrays, genotyping, bioinformatics, and a repository for clone access and other reagents. This grant is meant to support the training of Dr. Shirtliff on the latest techniques in functional genomics and development of emerging genomic technologies. A Scientific Advisory Committee has been established to provide advice to NIAID to assist in guiding the activities of the PFGRC. Further details about the PFGRC and how organisms are selected can be found at http://pfgrc.tigr.org   _______   Biofilm Methods   Modeling Antibiotic Susceptibility of Bacteria in Biofilms   Darla Goeres and Marty Hamilton met with EPA scientists and administrators on August 15, 2002, in Arlington, VA. The meeting was attended by the Director of the Antimicrobials Division and the Associate Director of the Biological and Economic Analysis Division as well as various Branch Chiefs and Team leaders. Darla presented "A Progress Report: Developing a Method to Test the Efficacy of Chemical Hot Tub Disinfectants." The participants discussed this and other issues related to the contract under which the CBE provides technical support to the Antimicrobials Division.   _________________________________________   Education   Research Experience for Undergraduates Program   The CBE Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program completed its 12th successful year on August 9, 2002. Eight students from six different universities spent their summer vacations investigating biofilms, learning about ethical topics in research and communicating their research results in three presentations and a technical paper. Two students were sponsored by the CBE Industrial Associates, Church & Dwight and Phillips Oral Health Care. For more information about the student's research topics, visit http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/education/REU/students_REU2002.htm     _________________________________________   CBE People in Action   Paul Stoodley, as a Hanse Wissenschaftskolleg Fellow Lecturer, presented "The Structure of Bacterial Biofilms: City Planning or Urban Sprawl?" Delmenhorst, Germany, August 6, 2002. Ryan Jordan presented "STINK HAPPENS. Antimicrobials in outdoor performance textiles: PR dreams, value-added profits, and fool's gold," Outdoor Retailer Expo 2002, Salt Lake City, UT, August 8-11, 2002 Marty Hamilton was introduced as a new Fellow of the American Statistical Association (ASA) in a ceremony preceding the President's annual address.  He attended the ASA Joint Statistical Meetings, New York City, NY, August 11-14, 2002. Bill Costerton, as invited speaker presented "Marine Biofilms," at the 2002 Society for Industrial Microbiology (SIM) Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, August 13-15, 2002.  Mark Pasmore, as invited speaker presented "Biofilms, Bacterial Signaling, and Their Ties to Marine Biology," at the Society of Industrial Microbiology National Meeting, Philadelphia, August 13-18, 2002. Paul Stoodley was an invited speaker at a workshop entitled "Biofilms in Industry, Medicine and Environmental Biotechnology: The Science" in Galway, Ireland at the National University of Ireland, August 24-29, 2002. He presented "Use of Flow Cells to Study Biofilms." Bill Costerton was keynote speaker at a workshop entitled "Biofilms in Industry, Medicine and Environmental Biotechnology: The Science" in Galway, Ireland at the National University of Ireland, August 24-29, 2002. He presented "Communication in Biofilms," and he also served on the Advisory Board. __________________________________________   Theses   See theses abstracts at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/pubs/Theses/default.htm     __________________________________________   Web Watch   Bioglyphs   You can virtually experience the Spring 2002 Bioglyphs exhibition at the new Bioglyphs web site: http://www.erc.montana.edu/Bioglyphs/default.htm   _______   Former CBE Folks A web page has been designed so you can submit information to us on where you are now and what you are doing. We'd love to hear from you! A link is provided from the CBE homepage. See http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/education/Alumni_appl_form.htm   _______   BiofilmsOnline.com   BiofilmsOnline.com has published a new section, called Education. It provides the following information and resources: - a biofilm primer  - short courses  - links to other biofilm-related web sites, and - educational curricula for K-12 and undergraduate microbiology teachers.  See http://www.biofilmsonline.com/EDUCATION/default.htm See the BiofilmsOnline.com September issue at http://www.BiofilmsOnline.com.   _______   Recent Web Updates   Check the Recent Web Updates link located on the CBE home page, to view the latest information posted on the CBE web.   See <http://www.erc.montana.edu/Recent%20Web%20Updates/default.htm>      __________________________________________   Newsletter Listserve   The CBE News Update is a listserve newsletter. If you need to subscribe or unsubscribe from the listserve, follow the directions at the following CBE website.   http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/subscribe.htm   An alternative to subscribing to the listserve is to view the CBE News Update on our web page at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Ind-Col99-SW/Current_Newsletter/default.htm. Newsletter archives can be found at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/index.htm   __________________________________________   Diane Williams  editor of the CBE News Update