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Microbial landscapes: new paths to biofilm research

Abstract

It is the best of times for biofilm research. Systems biology approaches are providing new insights into the genetic regulation of microbial functions, and sophisticated modelling techniques are enabling the prediction of microbial community structures. Yet it is also clear that there is a need for ecological theory to contribute to our understanding of biofilms. Here, we suggest a concept for biofilm research that is spatially explicit and solidly rooted in ecological theory, which might serve as a universal approach to the study of the numerous facets of biofilms.

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Figure 1: Biofilms as microbial landscapes.

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Acknowledgements

This article reflects the ideas of COMIX, a Collaborative Research Project of the European Science Foundation (EuroDIVERSITY); support came from a FWF Project. G. Pucher produced the microbial landscape figure; J. Webb, F. Maixner, I. Hödl and B. Houchmandzadeh provided material for the other figures.

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Correspondence to Tom J. Battin.

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DATABASES

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Glossary

Commensalism

Commensalism is an interaction between two organisms in which one organism benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped.

Dispersal ecology

Dispersal ecology studies the processes by which a species maintains or expands the distribution of its populations. Dispersal implies movement away from an existing population (population expansion) or away from the parent organisms (population maintenance).

Dispersal kernel

The spatial distribution of offspring around a parent can be described as a function of the probability of the abundance of offspring and distance from the parental community. This function is represented by the kernel model.

Extracellular polymeric substance

Extracellular polymeric substances are the key components of the slime matrix of biofilms, and are composed of polysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and other macromolecules.

Landscape ecology

Landscape ecology addresses the causes and consequences of spatial heterogeneity; heterogeneity is a measure of how different parts of a landscape are from each another. This discipline also examines how spatial structure affects organisms.

Mass transfer

The transport of dissolved molecules and particles from the bulk liquid into the biofilm. Diffusion is the process by which molecules move from areas of higher concentration to areas of lower concentration. Advection is the process by which moving liquid actively carries molecules and particles.

Metacommunity

A metacommunity is a set of local communities that are linked by the dispersal of multiple, potentially interacting, species.

Mutualism

Mutualism is an interaction between two or more species in which both species derive benefit

Neutral ecology

Neutral ecology aims to explain the diversity and relative abundance of species in ecological communities. It assumes that the differences between members of an ecological community of trophically similar species are 'neutral', or irrelevant to their success.

Niche differentiation

Niche differentiation refers to the process by which natural selection drives competing species into different uses of resources resulting in different niches.

Rhizosphere

The rhizosphere is the narrow region of soil that is directly influenced by roots and associated soil microorganisms. Abundant microorganisms feed on sloughed-off plant cells, and the proteins and sugars released by roots.

Self-similarity

A self-similar object is exactly or approximately similar to a part of itself.

Shear stress

Refers to the tangential force per unit area exerted by a fluid as it moves across a surface. Shear stress causes erosion and sloughing of biofilms, and initiates the formation of the filamentous streamers characteristic of many biofilms.

Stochastic theory

Stochastic theory deals with processes that are non-deterministic in that the next state of the environment is partially but not fully determined by the previous state of the environment; or, stochastic processes are largely governed by chance alone. By contrast, a deterministic process is causally determined by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences.

Tensoactive rhamnolipids

Rhamnolipids are tensoactive glycolipids that contain one or two rhamnose molecules.

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Battin, T., Sloan, W., Kjelleberg, S. et al. Microbial landscapes: new paths to biofilm research. Nat Rev Microbiol 5, 76–81 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro1556

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