Analysis of biofilm formation by intestinal lactobacilli

Abstract

In this study, the biofilm-forming potential of intestinal Lactobacillus reuteri strains under different culture conditions was characterized by microtiter plate biofilm assays. Moreover, the spatial organization of exogenously applied L. reuteri L2/6 (a pig isolate) at specific locations in gastrointestinal tract of monoassociated mice was investigated by fluorescence in situ hybridization. We did not detect biofilm formation by tested strains in nutrient-rich de Man-Rogosa-Sharpe (MRS) medium. On the contrary, a highly positive biofilm formation was observed in medium with lower accessibility to the carbon sources and lack of salts. The results obtained confirmed the significant role of Tween 80 and the quantity and nature of the sugars in the growth medium in biofilm formation. The omission of Tween 80 in MRS medium favored the formation of biofilm. Abundant biofilm formation was detected in the presence of lactose, galactose, and glucose. However, a gradual increase in sugar concentration triggered a significant decrease in biofilm formation. In addition, conditions related to the gastrointestinal environment, such as low pH and the presence of bile and mucins, highly modulated biofilm production. This effect seems to be dependent on the specificity and properties of the medium used for cultivation. From the evidence provided by this study we conclude that the biofilm formation capacity of L. reuteri is strongly dependent on the environmental factors and culture medium used.

The Study of the Probiotic Potential of the Beneficial Bacteria Isolated from Kefir Grains

“…3). A similar production of biofilms by lactobacilli from various sources was observed by T e r r a f et al [43] and S l í ž o v á et al [42]. However, these authors pointed out that there are significant differences in the production of biofilms related to the composition of the medium and cultivation conditions.…”

Biofilm Formation and Detachment in Gram-Negative Pathogens Is Modulated by Select Bile Acids

“…[ 26 , 41 , 43 , 45 ] In a similarly confusing situation, many of these papers provide evidence that the presence of either intact bile or individual bile acids increase biofilm formation [ 26 , 32 , 34 – 36 , 40 – 42 , 45 – 52 ] whereas a number of other papers report that addition of bile or individual bile acids decreases biofilm formation. [ 26 , 30 , 31 , 33 , 51 , 53 ]…”

Interactions of Intestinal Bacteria with Components of the Intestinal Mucus

“…Some evidence, such as the rates of plasmids transfer and the expression of colonization factors by gut bacteria, plead for the presence of biofilms in the gut (Macfarlane et al, 1997 ; Licht et al, 1999 ; Hooper and Gordon, 2001 ). In addition, components of the mucus layer, such as secretory IgA (SIgA) and mucins are likely to play a role in biofilm formation as they have been shown to modulate biofilm production in vitro (Bollinger et al, 2003 , 2006 ; Slizova et al, 2015 ). Moreover, adherence of bacteria to mucin proteins could lead to growth of microcolonies that could further develop into biofilms (Kleessen and Blaut, 2007 ).…”