Trail of Biofilm Research: As Microbial Tool for Ecological and Industrial Application

Author: Revathy P.K. and Abraham, K.M.

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Abstract

Biofilms are consortium of microbes of different origin embedded in extra polymeric matrix, which is composed of carbohydrates, extracellular DNA and secreted proteins. A biofilm may be of a single species microbe or a combination of different species and/or groups including bacteria, virus and fungus. Bacterial biofilm formation relies on bacterial cells, substrates, surrounding media and its formation is a complex process involving reversible attachment followed by irreversible attachment phase, Extra Polymeric Substance (EPS) production, biofilm maturation phase and a final detachment phase. Biofilms are found and formed in aquatic environments well rather than other terrestrial or xerophytic conditions, where the ecosystem supports microbial growth. Biofilm in nature have both beneficial and detrimental effects of which, negative effects in health care, drinking water distribution systems, food and marine industries etc. are highlighted and studied well, which resulted studies on inhibition and control of biofilms. Despite the harmful effects, biofilms serve beneficial roles in a variety of fields including bioremediation, waste water treatment, corrosion inhibition, heavy metal remediation and so on. This review elaborates the positive and negative aspects of biofilms of bacterial origin in various fields and highlights the need to encourage the formation of beneficial bacterial biofilms.

Keywords

Biofilms, Bioremediation, Extra Polymeric Matrix, Bacterial consortium

Conclusion

Biofilm represents the predominant life style adopted by bacteria in most of the natural as well as manmade environment. Biofilm investigations have vast potential in terms of its formation, adhesion, detachment and characteristic features. Its phenomenal use and adaptability has great scope in biotechnological as well as environmental studies. There is a lot of scope to study the characteristics of biofilms in different application mentioned in the review and also to compare their characteristics. Moreover, the review provides a clear understanding of the complexity of biofilms and the harmful as well as beneficial aspects of biofilms that are ubiquitous in nature. Therapies existing now will not be effective for controlling diseases due to the emergence of highly resistant strains and also they are targeting the planktonic phase of bacteria. So the future course of action would be directed to find novel and effective treatments that target the biofilm mode of life of bacteria. For this we should have a better understanding of the genes and proteins that are differentially expressed under biofilm and planktonic growth conditions. Moreover, beneficial biofilm formation can be encouraged in many industrial and environmental areas through modifications.

References

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How to cite this article

Revathy P.K. and Abraham, K.M. (2023). Trail of Biofilm Research: As Microbial Tool for Ecological and Industrial Application. Biological Forum – An International Journal, 15(4): 936-945.