Biofilm disruption by an air bubble reveals heterogeneous age-dependent detachment patterns dictated by initial extracellular matrix distribution

Abstract

Biofilm disruption: patterns of weak spots Using air bubbles to disrupt biofilms reveals patterns in biofilm structure and susceptibility to damage that depend on a biofilm’s age. Roman Stocker and colleagues at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) used controlled flow of an air bubble to understand mechanical disruption of biofilms of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This physical assault caused a characteristic pattern of holes in early-stage biofilms, different from the damage pattern in older biofilms. The holes were most likely to occur in regions that were relatively deficient in the polymers released by bacterial cells to form the extracellular structure of the biofilm. These findings highlight the importance of heterogeneities in the structure of biofilms as they form. The researchers suggest more attention should be given to age-related variations in microscale structure when designing strategies to disrupt biofilms.