Abstract
BackgroundBiofilm formation has been studied in much detail for a variety of bacterial species, as it plays a major role in the pathogenicity of bacteria. However, only limited information is available for the development of archaeal communities that are frequently found in many natural environments.MethodologyWe have analyzed biofilm formation in three closely related hyperthermophilic crenarchaeotes: Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, S. solfataricus and S. tokodaii. We established a microtitre plate assay adapted to high temperatures to determine how pH and temperature influence biofilm formation in these organisms. Biofilm analysis by confocal laser scanning microscopy demonstrated that the three strains form very different communities ranging from simple carpet-like structures in S. solfataricus to high density tower-like structures in S. acidocaldarius in static systems. Lectin staining indicated that all three strains produced extracellular polysaccharides containing glucose, galactose, mannose and N-acetylglucosamine once biofilm formation was initiated. While flagella mutants had no phenotype in two days old static biofilms of S. solfataricus, a UV-induced pili deletion mutant showed decreased attachment of cells.ConclusionThe study gives first insights into formation and development of crenarchaeal biofilms in extreme environments.
Highlights
In nature, most microbes are assumed to exist predominantly in surface-associated communities, encased in a self-produced matrix, termed biofilms [1,2,3]
Two distinct biofilm morphologies were described in the extremely acidophilic euryarchaeote Ferroplasma acidarmanus Fer1, a multilayered film forming on glass and pyrite surfaces and up to 5 mm-long filaments that were found in natural environments [13]
Strains and growth conditions Sulfolobus solfataricus P2 (DSM1617), S. acidocaldarius (DSM639), S. tokodaii (DSM16993), S. solfataricus PBL2025 [22], flagella deletion mutant DflaJ [16] and the ups pili deletion mutant DupsE [17] were grown in Brock medium at 76uC, pH adjusted to 3 using sulphuric acid, and supplemented with 0.1% w/v tryptone [20]
Summary
Most microbes are assumed to exist predominantly in surface-associated communities, encased in a self-produced matrix, termed biofilms [1,2,3]. Studies on microbial biofilms have mainly been conducted on bacteria, in particular with regard to pathogenic species in which biofilms play an important role in disease development [4,5]. Two distinct biofilm morphologies were described in the extremely acidophilic euryarchaeote Ferroplasma acidarmanus Fer, a multilayered film forming on glass and pyrite surfaces and up to 5 mm-long filaments that were found in natural environments [13]. Proteomic studies on these biofilms showed that 6 out of the 10 up-regulated proteins were involved in the adaptation to anaerobic growth indicating anaerobic zones in the multilayered Ferroplasma biofilms. Only limited information is available for the development of archaeal communities that are frequently found in many natural environments
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