Abstract
Most bacteria live in biofilms in their natural habitat rather than the planktonic cell stage that dominates during traditional laboratory cultivation and enrichment schemes. The present study describes the establishment of a flow-based enrichment method based on multispecies biofilm communities for directing biofilm functionality using an environmental inoculum. By controlling flow conditions and physio-chemical properties, the set-up aims to simulate natural conditions ex situ for biofilm formation. The functionality of the method was demonstrated by enrichment of biofilm microbiomes using consortia from a warm compost pile and industrial waste materials as growth substrate, and further exploring the metagenomes by biotechnological tools. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing results revealed a difference in consortium composition and especially in genus abundance, in flow experiments compared to traditional liquid-shake experiments after enrichment, indicating good biofilm development and increased abundance of biofilm-forming taxa. The shotgun sequence mining demonstrated that different enzymes classes can be targeted by enriching biofilms on different substrates such as oat husk, pine saw dust, and lignin. The flow-based biofilm method is effective in reducing bacterial consortia complexity and in selecting biofilm-forming bacteria, and it is possible to enrich the biofilm community in various directions based on the choice of sample material, environmental conditions, and nutritional preferences, targeting enzymes or enzyme classes of industrial interest.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.