Journal article
Death and transfiguration in static Staphylococcus epidermidis cultures
PloS one, v 9(6), pp e100002-e100002
2014
PMID: 24964210
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
The overwhelming majority of bacteria live in slime embedded microbial communities termed biofilms, which are typically adherent to a surface. However, when several Staphylococcus epidermidis strains were cultivated in static liquid cultures, macroscopic aggregates were seen floating within the broth and also sedimented at the test tube bottom. Light- and electron microscopy revealed that early-stage aggregates consisted of bacteria and extracellular matrix, organized in sheet-like structures. Perpendicular under the sheets hung a network of periodically arranged, bacteria-associated strands. During the extended cultivation, the strands of a subpopulation of aggregates developed into cross-connected wall-like structures, in which aligned bacteria formed the walls. The resulting architecture had a compartmentalized appearance. In late-stage cultures, the wall-associated bacteria disintegrated so that, henceforth, the walls were made of the coalescing remnants of lysed bacteria, while the compartment-like organization remained intact. At the same time, the majority of strand-containing aggregates with associated culturable bacteria continued to exist. These observations indicate that some strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis are able to build highly sophisticated structures, in which a subpopulation undergoes cell lysis, presumably to provide continued access to nutrients in a nutrient-limited environment, whilst maintaining structural integrity.
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Details
- Title
- Death and transfiguration in static Staphylococcus epidermidis cultures
- Creators
- Christoph Schaudinn - Centre for Biological Threats and Special Pathogens, Robert Koch Institute, Berlin, GermanyPaul Stoodley - Departments of Microbial Infection and Immunity and Orthopedics, Columbus, Ohio, United States of AmericaLuanne Hall-Stoodley - Departments of Microbial Infection and Immunity and Orthopedics, Columbus, Ohio, United States of AmericaAmita Gorur - Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, United States of AmericaJonathan Remis - Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, United States of AmericaSiva Wu - Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, United States of AmericaManfred Auer - Life Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California, United States of AmericaStefan Hertwig - Department of Biological Safety, Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Berlin, GermanyDebbie Guerrero-Given - Electron Microscopy, Max Planck Florida Institute, Jupiter, Florida, United States of AmericaFen Ze Hu - Center for Genomic Sciences and Center for Advanced Microbial Processing, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease; Department of Microbiology and Immunology Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of AmericaGarth D Ehrlich - Center for Genomic Sciences and Center for Advanced Microbial Processing, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease; Department of Microbiology and Immunology Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of AmericaJohn William Costerton - Center for Genomic Sciences and Center for Advanced Microbial Processing, Institute for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease; Department of Microbiology and Immunology Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of AmericaDouglas H Robinson - deNovo Biologic LLC, Arlington, Virginia, United States of AmericaPaul Webster - Center for Electron Microscopy and Microanalysis, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, and Oak Crest Institute of Science, Pasadena, California, United States of America
- Publication Details
- PloS one, v 9(6), pp e100002-e100002
- Publisher
- Public LIbrary of Science (PLOS); United States
- Grant note
- P30 DC006276 / NIDCD NIH HHS (5 P-30 DC006276-03 / NIDCD NIH HHS
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Microbiology and Immunology
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000338709500026
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84903520918
- Other Identifier
- 991014969882804721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Microbiology