Journal article
The role of alginate in Pseudomonas aeruginosa EPS adherence, viscoelastic properties and cell attachment
Biofouling (Chur, Switzerland), v 27(7), pp 787-798
Aug 2011
PMID: 21797737
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Among various functions, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) provide microbial biofilms with mechanical stability and affect initial cell attachment, the first stage in the biofilm formation process. The role of alginate, an abundant polysaccharide in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms, in the viscoelastic properties and adhesion kinetics of EPS was analyzed using a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) monitoring technology. EPS was extracted from two P. aeruginosa biofilms, a wild type strain, PAO1, and a mucoid strain, PAOmucA22 that over-expresses alginate production. The higher alginate content in the EPS originating from the mucoid biofilms was clearly shown to increase both the rate and the extent of attachment of the EPS, as well as the layer's thickness. Also, the presence of calcium and elevated ionic strength increased the thickness of the EPS layer. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) showed that the presence of calcium and elevated ionic strength induced intermolecular attractive interactions in the mucoid EPS molecules. For the wild type EPS, in the presence of calcium, an elevated shift in the distribution of the diffusion coefficients was observed with DLS due to a more compacted conformation of the EPS molecules. Moreover, the alginate over-expression effect on EPS adherence was compared to the effect of alginate overexpression on P. aeruginosa cell attachment. In a parallel plate flow cell, under similar hydraulic and aquatic conditions as those applied for the EPS adsorption tests in the QCM-D flow cell, reduced adherence of the mucoid strain was clearly observed compared to the wild type isogenic bacteria. The results suggest that alginate contributes to steric hindrance and shielding of cell surface features and adhesins that are known to promote cell attachment.
Metrics
Details
- Title
- The role of alginate in Pseudomonas aeruginosa EPS adherence, viscoelastic properties and cell attachment
- Creators
- Oded Orgad - Ben-Gurion University of the NegevYoram Oren - Ben-Gurion University of the NegevSharon L. Walker - University of California, RiversideMoshe Herzberg - Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
- Publication Details
- Biofouling (Chur, Switzerland), v 27(7), pp 787-798
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Number of pages
- 12
- Grant note
- 1360/10 / Israel Science Foundation
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- College of Engineering
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000294480100010
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84856403008
- Other Identifier
- 991021229888804721
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
- Marine & Freshwater Biology