Center for Biofilm Engineering

News Update: 

September, 2005

Volume 8, Issue 9

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Research Highlights

Paper Spotlight

by Jeanne Olsen

Antibiotic-sized molecules penetrate the biofilm matrix

Early biofilm research demonstrated that bacterial biofilms exhibit extraordinary tolerance to antibiotics, as compared with bacterial cells grown in suspension. In the past, this resistance has been attributed to the ability of the extracellular polymeric matrix to prevent antibiotic from reaching the majority of biofilm cells. This experiment demonstrates, by using fluorescent antibiotic-sized tracers and confocal scanning laser microscopy, that the biofilm matrix does not exclude solutes of typical antibiotic sizes. Independent research has also indicated that solutes of even larger sizes were able to penetrate the biofilm matrix and reach the interior cells of the biofilm. The results indicate that a biological mechanism of the microorganisms, rather than size exclusion capabilities of the biofilm matrix, may account for the antibiotic resistance. Further research aimed at identifying possible biological mechanisms could greatly advance our ability to fight biofilm-type infections.

“Rapid Diffusion of Fluorescent Tracers into Staphylococcus epidermidis Biofilms Visualized by Time Lapse Microscopy”
S. Abdul Rani, B. Pitts, P.S. Stewart
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy 49(2): 728-732 (2005)
 

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Center Director’s Vision

Phil Stewart highlights four areas in which the Center is positioned to maintain or build its expertise and reputation. Read his latest Director's Message, "Vision for the Future,” at:
http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/director's%20message/default.htm
 

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Standardized Biofilm Methods Team

Take a moment and meet the faculty, staff and students whose work focuses on the standardization of biofilm research methods. Team members represent the CBE at these standardization organizations: 1) American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM), 2) Association of Official Analytical Chemists International (AOAC), and 3) Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Read more about each team member’s work at:
http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/research/StandBFMethods/SBMResearchTeam.htm

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Visitors

Jeyong Yoon, Associate Professor, is visiting the CBE while on sabbatical (August 15, 2005 through August 15, 2006) from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Seoul National University, South Korea (http://env.snu.ac.kr). Jeyong’s expertise is in disinfection mechanisms and kinetics. He and his Ph.D. student, Jaeen Kim, are here to acquire expertise on biofilm systems that they can adapt to their research in Korea.

Shoji Takenaka, Assistant Professor, Division of Cariology, Department of Oral Health Science, Oral Life Science Course, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Science, Niigata, Japan. Shoji has been invited to work with the Biofilm Control/Antimicrobials team on dental plaque/oral biofilms beginning September 1, 2005 through August 31, 2006. He will be investigating the penetration of antimicrobials into dental biofilms.

Laura Jennings, visiting student from Cornell University, will be working with Robin Gerlach and Al Cunningham's Bioremediation Research Group. She will work on the project "Investigations of Polaromonas sp. strain JS666 as a Potential Bioaugmentation Agent at cDCE-Contaminated Sites," from August 15, 2005 – August 15, 2008. Polaromonas sp. strain JS666 shows promise as a bioaugmentation agent because it is the only aerobic organism isolated to date that can grow on cDCE as the sole carbon source. Experiments will be designed to investigate the culturing conditions that facilitate growth on cDCE. Monitoring gene expression under these conditions may help to elucidate the cDCE degradation pathway. Laura is fully funded by Cornell and will complete her PhD at Cornell under the direction of Jim Gossett.

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New Appointment

Ross Carlson was recently featured in MSU news for his new appointment in the Department of Biological and Chemical Engineering. Ross continues to infuse his creativity and enthusiasm into the Center’s Biofilm Control group, where he investigates surface coating strategies to retard or prevent biofilm formation on medical devices such as catheters.
 

See full MSU News Service story at:
http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/HTML/2005/Carlson_MSUNews.htm

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Recent CBE Publications

"Differential Gene Expression for Investigation of Escherichia coli Biofilm Inhibition by Plant Extract Ursolic Acid"
Ren, D., R. Zuo, A.F. González Barrios, L.A. Bedzyk, G.R. Eldridge, M.E. Pasmore, and T.K. Wood
Appl Environ Microbiol 71(7):4022-4034 (2005)

“Engineering Approaches for the Detection and Control of Orthopaedic Biofilm Infections”
Ehrlich GD, P. Stoodley, S. Kathju, Y. Zhao, B.R. McLeod, N. Balaban, F.Z. Hu, N.G. Sotereanos, J.W. Costerton, P.S. Stewart, J.C. Post, and Q. Lin
Clin Orthop Relat Res (437):59-66 (2005)

“Prevention of Staphylococcal Biofilm-Associated Infections by the Quorum Sensing Inhibitor RIP”
Balaban, N., P. Stoodley, C.A. Fux, S. Wilson, J.W. Costerton, and G. Dell'acqua
Clin Orthop Relat Res (437):48-54 (2005)

“Molecular and Imaging Techniques for Bacterial Biofilms in Joint Arthroplasty Infections”
Stoodley, P., S. Kathju, F.Z. Hu, G. Erdos, J.E. Levenson, N. Mehta, B. Dice, S. Johnson, L. Hall-Stoodley, L. Nistico, N. Sotereanos, J. Sewecke, J.C. Post, and G.D. Ehrlich
Clin Orthop Relat Res (437):31-40 (2005)

“Bacterial Plurality as a General Mechanism Driving Persistence in Chronic Infections”
Ehrlich, G.D., F.Z. Hu, K. Shen, P. Stoodley, and J.C. Post
Clin Orthop Relat Res (437):20-24 (2005)

To read paper abstracts or to order paper copies see:
http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/pubs/Database/PD_DisplayScript.asp

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Outreach

Catapalooza Event

Jeanne Olsen and Linda Loetterle participated in the 2005 Montana Catapalooza Event, a campus wide welcome back extravaganza for MSU students. Their exhibit highlighted CBE activities and mission as well as the "Microbes in the Environment" course being taught by CBE faculty, staff and graduate students this fall semester.

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CBE People in Action

Robin Gerlach presented “Fermenters and Reductive Contaminant Transformation Processes in the Subsurface,” The Joint International Symposia for Subsurface Microbiology (ISSM 2005) and Environmental Biogeochemistry (ISEB XVII). Jackson Hole, WY. August 14−19, 2005.
Coauthors: Borch T, Ballor NR, Cunningham AB, Peyton BM, Apel WA.

Robin Gerlach presented, “Bacterial Transport and Biofilm Formation in Porous Media,” The Joint International Symposia for Subsurface Microbiology (ISSM 2005) and Environmental Biogeochemistry (ISEB XVII). Jackson Hole, WY. August 14−19, 2005.
Coauthors: Gage JP, Adgie M, Seymour JD, Codd SL, Sharp RS, Cunningham AB

Brent Peyton presented "Uranium Immobilization by Cellulomonas sp," The Joint International Symposia for Subsurface Microbiology (ISSM 2005) and Environmental Biogeochemistry (ISEB XVII). Jackson Hole, WY. August 14−19, 2005.
Coauthors: Sivaswamy V, Viamajala S, Gerlach R, Apel WA, Sani R, Dohnalkova A

Justin P. Gage presented a poster entitled “MR Measurement of the Impact of Column Walls on the Dispersion Time Dependence of Flow in a Cylindrical Bead Pack,” 8th International Conference on Magnetic Resonance Microscopy, Utsunomiya, Japan, August 22−26, 2005.
Coauthors: Seymour JD, Maier RS, Codd SL, Davis HT

Sarah L. Codd presented a poster entitled “Magnetic Resonance Microscopy Analysis of Advective Transport in a Biofilm Reactor,” 8th International Conference on Magnetic Resonance Microscopy, Utsunomiya, Japan, August 22−26, 2005.

Joseph D. Seymour presented “Magnetic Resonance Microscopy of Scale Dependent Transport Phenomena: Bioactivity in Porous Media,” 8th International Conference on Magnetic Resonance Microscopy, Utsunomiya, Japan, August 22−26, 2005.

Philip Stewart presented “Dormancy and Antibiotic Tolerance in P. aeruginosa Biofilms,” UWEB 2005 Summer Symposium, Bugs and Biomaterials: Bacteria and the Biointerface, co-sponsored by CBE, University of Washington Campus, Seattle, Washington, USA, August 24–26, 2005.

Garth James presented “Bacterial Colonization of Central Venous Catheters,” UWEB 2005 Summer Symposium, Bugs and Biomaterials: Bacteria and the Biointerface, co-sponsored by CBE, University of Washington Campus, Seattle, Washington, USA, August 24–26, 2005.

Patrick Norris presented “Ultrasonically Controlled Release of Ciprofloxacin from Self-Assembled Coatings on pHEMA Hydrogels for Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Prevention, UWEB 2005 Summer Symposium, Bugs and Biomaterials: Bacteria and the Biointerface, co-sponsored by CBE, University of Washington Campus, Seattle, Washington, USA, August 24–26, 2005.

Ross Carlson presented “Anti-Biofilm Surface Coatings UWEB 2005 Summer Symposium, Bugs and Biomaterials: Bacteria and the Biointerface, co-sponsored by CBE, University of Washington Campus, Seattle, Washington, USA, August 24–26, 2005.

 
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Biofilm Education Resources

Upcoming CBE Workshops

“Biofilm Methods Workshop,” organized by the CBE
Montana State University, October 6–7, 2005. See workshop agenda (pdf) at: http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/whats_new/Oct05_Wrkshop.pdf

“Bioelectrochemistry: Microbially Influenced Corrosion and Microbial Fuel Cells,” sponsored by the CBE Structure-Function Research Group, Center for Biofilm Engineering, Montana State University, January 11–14, 2006 Note that the date has been changed.

For more information on the Structure-Function group’s workshops, go to: http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/research/workshops/

“Biofilm Methods Workshop,” organized by the CBE
Montana State University, February 1, 2006. See the sample 2005 agenda at: http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/whats_new/sTAC05_Wrkshp.pdf

For more information about the Biofilm Methods Workshops, go to: http://www.erc.montana.edu/Ind-Col99-SW/Workshops/
 

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Web Watch

BiofilmsOnline.com

See the BiofilmsOnline.com September issue at http://www.BiofilmsOnline.com.

Subscribe to the bi-weekly newsletter by registering at: http://www.biofilmsonline.com/cgi-bin/biofilmsonline/newsletter_signup.html

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Newsletter Listserve

The CBE News Update is a listserve newsletter. If you wish 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.

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