Bacterial adhesion at the single-cell level

C Berne, CK Ellison, A Ducret, YV Brun - Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2018 - nature.com
Nature Reviews Microbiology, 2018nature.com
The formation of multicellular microbial communities, called biofilms, starts from the
adhesion of a few planktonic cells to the surface. The transition from a free-living planktonic
lifestyle to a sessile, attached state is a multifactorial process that is determined by
biological, chemical and physical properties of the environment, the surface and the
bacterial cell. The initial weak, reversible interactions between a bacterium and a surface
strengthen to yield irreversible adhesion. In this Review, we summarize our understanding …
Abstract
The formation of multicellular microbial communities, called biofilms, starts from the adhesion of a few planktonic cells to the surface. The transition from a free-living planktonic lifestyle to a sessile, attached state is a multifactorial process that is determined by biological, chemical and physical properties of the environment, the surface and the bacterial cell. The initial weak, reversible interactions between a bacterium and a surface strengthen to yield irreversible adhesion. In this Review, we summarize our understanding of the mechanisms governing bacterial adhesion at the single-cell level, including the physical forces experienced by a cell before reaching the surface, the first contact with a surface and the transition from reversible to permanent adhesion.
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