Center for Biofilm Engineering

News Update: 

August, 2007

Volume 10, Issue 7-8

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Research Highlights

Technical Advisory Conference Highlights

The summer 2007 Technical Advisory Conference (TAC) for our Industrial Associate members and invited guests was held in Bozeman July 24-26, 2007 (Tuesday-Thursday). The TAC featured sessions on Wound Biofilms, Biofilm Behavior and Control, Biofilm Methods, Biofilm in Water Venues, and Fungal Biofilms. Other special presentations included regulatory issues and microscopy.

Read about the TAC highlights

Read the MSU press release about the conference
 

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New Industrial Associate Members

We are pleased to welcome a new member company.

Procter & Gamble has (re)joined the CBE as an Industrial Associate member. They are one of the largest consumer products companies in the world, and they were a CBE member from 1991 to 2000. The designated representative will be Chuck Pettigrew.  Read more about Procter & Gamble
 

See our Industrial Associate member companies

Read more about membership information

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Montana Board of Research and Commercialization Grant

Congratulations to Bruce McLeod, who was awarded a $146,480 grant from the Montana Board of Research to “Develop a Non-Invasive Clinical Device that is Effective in Cleaning Persistent Infections in Prosthetic Knee Implants.” The grant is funded August 1, 2007 through July 31, 2009. Tens of million of prosthetic devices are implanted yearly in the United States and, in most cases, successfully. Unfortunately, long term and very difficult infections occurs in an estimated 1.3 million implant patients. If a prosthetic, such as a knee, develops a recalcitrant infection, the base cause is probably a biofilm on some surface of the knee and, if this is the case, there is no existing means of clearing the infection without removing and re-implanting the knee. The aim of the proposed work is to use specific magnetic fields to induce currents in the knee which will enhance the efficacy of an antibiotic sufficiently to achieve sterilization of the prosthetic. The hypothesis for the proposed work is that since bone cells can be growth stimulated by externally applied magnetic fields, it should be possible to stimulate (e.g., increase the metabolism of) bacteria such as Staphylococcus epidermidis in a biofilm and hence increase their intake of an antibiotic. Montana is moving toward becoming a preferred location of high tech and, in many cases, high tech medical application companies. A clinical device resulting from this work would be lightweight, contain high tech but easily design electronics, be small in size and have a high dollar value per unit of weight. These characteristics are ideal for a device that would be built in Montana and shipped anywhere in the world.

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Physiology and Ecology Research

Matthew Fields and his students joined the CBE’s research program this year and his projects and students are highlighted in the Research Program web pages, Physiology and Ecology.

The physiology and ecology lab is interested in “environmental” organisms and biofilms involved in a variety of processes that include nitrate contamination, heavy metal reduction, metal corrosion, extremophiles, and bio-energy. The team's work is focused on the relationships between biotic and abiotic factors that mediate control over physiology and modes of growth, and how signals are sensed and cells respond accordingly in order to optimize metabolism. They study both monocultures and indigenous microbial communities to better understand the interrelationships between genomic content and phenotype at different levels of resolution (i.e., DNA to community), and how these attributes contribute to stress and survival of biological cells.

Read more about this topic

Matthew Fields most recent publications are listed below.

"Biofilm Formation in Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough is Dependent Upon Protein Filaments"

Clark, M.E., R.E. Edelmann, M.L. Duley, J.D. Wall, and M.W. Fields
Environ. Microbiol, 2007 (doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2007.01398.x).

“Bioreduction of Uranium (VI) In situ and Stability of Immobilized Uranium: Impact of Dissolved Oxygen”

Wei-Min W., J. Carley, J. Luo, M.A Ginder-Vogel, E. Cardenas, M.B. Leigh, C. Hwang, S.D. Kelly, C. Ruan, L. Wu, T. Gentry, K. Lowe, T. Melhorn, S. Carroll, M.W. Fields, B. Gu, D. Watson, K.M. Kemner, T. Marsh, J. Tiedje, J. Zhou, S. Fendorf, P.K. Kitandis, P.M. Jardine, and C.S. Criddle
Environ. Sci. Technol. 2007 (in press).

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In the Media

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Latest CBE Publications

“Powdered Activated Carbon and Biofiltration Improve MF Performance: Part II”
Khan, M.M.T., S. Takizawa, W. Jones, H. Katayama, F. Kurisu, A.K. Camper, and S. Ohgaki
Membrane Technology 2007; 6:7-10

"Comparative Evaluation of Biofilm Disinfectant Efficacy Tests"
Buckingham-Meyer, K., D.M. Goeres and M.A. Hamilton
J. Microbiol. Methods Aug 2007; 70(2):236-244

"Seasonal Influence on Sulfate Reduction and Metal Sequestration in Sub-surface Wetlands"
Stein, O.R., D.J. Borden, P.B. Hook and W.L. Jones
Wat. Res., Aug 2007; 41(15):3440-3448

Read CBE publication abstracts  

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New Employees

Tara Gunsch joined CBE as the HR Information Coordinator July 5th. She comes to us with several years of campus experience in the Controller's Office and most recently in Personnel and Payroll Services. She will be responsible for providing human resource and education support services to the CBE, facilitating arrangements for visitors, and tracking information for various reporting purposes.

Andy Pannier is a new member of Robin Gerlach’s research group who will be pursuing his MS in Microbiology before heading to West Point in a couple of years to teach in the Department of Chemistry and Life Sciences. Andy has a BS in Environmental Biology and a MS in Geology as well as many years of military service in the U.S. Army behind him. Andy will work on a project that investigates the transformation of nitroaromatics (explosives) and heavy metals in biofilm reactors.

Jackie (Whitaker) Hilyard has joined the Standard Biofilm Methods group as a Research Assistant, and will work on industrially sponsored research projects. Jackie was an integral part of the CBE research team that developed a standard operating procedure for growing a repeatable Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm in the drip flow reactor. She completed her undergraduate degree in microbiology at Montana State University and continued her education at the Sacred Heart Medical Center School of Medical Technology in Spokane, WA. Upon completion, she earned her certifications as a Medical Technologist through the American Society for Clinical Pathology and a Clinical Laboratory Scientist through the National Credentialing Agency

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Summer Visitors

Gregory Characklis, Associate Professor of Environmental Engineering from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill, was a visiting faculty at the CBE this summer. He is currently conducting research in the area of pathogen transport in storm water runoff systems (among other interesting topics), and brought four of his students also came for a few days to present their research and explore the Center’s research and education programs. Greg has historical ties to the Center, as the son of the Center’s founding director W.G. (Bill) and Nancy Characklis, and it has been a pleasure to have him here. Read more

Diana Amari joined Anne Camper’s Drinking Water research group for two months from David Davies’s lab in Binghamton, NY. Diana is a graduate student and worked with Pat Secor, Lynne Leach and Andreas Nocker on a project that examines differences in 2-D protein patterns between organisms grown in a single species biofilm and grown in multi-species biofilms. We were happy to have her working on this multi-species multi-scientist project.

Lourdes Jiménez Taracido is a visiting graduate student studying marine consortia and biofilms at the University of Cádiz in Spain. She will be working with the CBE’s Control lab and with Ross Carlson's lab for the next three months. Lourdes is currently developing an AI2 quorum sensing reporter system for E. coli.

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Education

Thesis Alert

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CBE People in Action

Joseph Seymour as invited speaker presented "Biopolymer and Water Dynamics in Microbial Biofilm Extracellular Polymeric Substance" at the EUCHEM conference Structure Dynamics in Soft Condensed Matter, Fiskebäckskil, Sweden, August 20-22, 2007.

Marty Hamilton presented "The 6-Log Performance Standard for Quantitative Sporicidal Efficacy Tests" to EPA's FIFRA Scientific Advisory Panel, July 17, 2007, in Arlington, VA.

Melinda Clark presented a poster titled “Structural Role for Flagella in Biofilm Formation and Stability in Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough” at the 2007 Environmental Subsurface Science Symposium, Utah State University, Logan, UT, July 25, 2007. She won second place in the poster competition.

Melinda Clark presented “Responses of Desulfovibrio vulgaris to Physiological Constraints” at the 2007 Environmental Subsurface Science Symposium, Utah State University, Logan, UT, July 25, 2007.

Chiachi Hwang presented a poster titled “Changes in Microbial Community Structure During Biostimulation for Uranium Reduction” at the 2007 Environmental Subsurface Science Symposium, Utah State University, Logan, UT, July 25, 2007. She won third place in the poster competition.

Chiachi Hwang presented “Bacterial Communities Stimulated for Uranium Bio-reduction Display Temporal Concordance Along Controlled Flow Paths” at the 2007 Environmental Subsurface Science Symposium, Utah State University, Logan, UT, July 25, 2007.

Anitha Sundararajan presented a poster titled “Proteins Involved in Oxygen Sensing and Metabolism are Important for Biofilms in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1” at the 2007 Environmental Subsurface Science Symposium, Utah State University, Logan, UT, July 25, 2007.

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Web Watch

BiofilmsOnline.com

Visit www.BiofilmsOnline.com for more biofilm news and information.

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