“Soil biofilms”: Misleading description of the spatial distribution of microbial biomass in soils

Baveye, Philippe

doi:10.1007/s42832-020-0024-8

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…The latter authors preferred to refer instead to "groups of cells" located in specific microenvironments. In this discipline, as in others before, the push by some to adopt the "biofilm" terminology has led to occasionally heated discussions among "biofilm" researchers and those not happy questioning their field of research requiring a new label 54,55 .…”

Section: Biofilms Shaped By Extracellular Polymeric Substances (Eps)mentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Understandably, the respective scientific communities addressing sectors of this spectrum were hesitant about renaming accepted terms such “dental plaque”, “activated sludge”, “microbial mats”, “desert varnish”, “soil aggregates” 51 or others as “films”, since these terms are already well established in their respective disciplines. The term biofilm was uncommon in literature on soils, where the term “biofilm” traditionally did not appear until recently 52 , because researchers had failed to observe anything resembling films in these systems 53 , 54 . The latter authors preferred to refer instead to “groups of cells” located in specific microenvironments.…”

Section: Biofilms Shaped By Extracellular Polymeric Substances (Eps)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Who put the film in biofilm? The migration of a term from wastewater engineering to medicine and beyond

Flemming

Baveye²,

Neu

et al. 2021

npj Biofilms Microbiomes

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Sessile microorganisms were described as early as the seventeenth century. However, the term biofilm arose only in the 1960s in wastewater treatment research and was adopted later in marine fouling and in medical and dental microbiology. The sessile mode of microbial life was gradually recognized to be predominant on Earth, and the term biofilm became established for the growth of microorganisms in aggregates, frequently associated with interfaces, although many, if not the majority, of them not being continuous “films” in the strict sense. In this sessile form of life, microorganisms live in close proximity in a matrix of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). They share emerging properties, clearly distinct from solitary free floating planktonic microbial cells. Common characteristics include the formation of synergistic microconsortia, using the EPS matrix as an external digestion system, the formation of gradients and high biodiversity over microscopically small distances, resource capture and retention, facilitated gene exchange as well as intercellular communication, and enhanced tolerance to antimicrobials. Thus, biofilms belong to the class of collective systems in biology, like forests, beehives, or coral reefs, although the term film addresses only one form of the various manifestations of microbial aggregates. The uncertainty of this term is discussed, and it is acknowledged that it will not likely be replaced soon, but it is recommended to understand these communities in the broader sense of microbial aggregates.

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Section: Biofilms Shaped By Extracellular Polymeric Substances (Eps)mentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Biofilms Shaped By Extracellular Polymeric Substances (Eps)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Who put the film in biofilm? The migration of a term from wastewater engineering to medicine and beyond

Flemming

Baveye²,

Neu

et al. 2021

npj Biofilms Microbiomes

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“…Whereas the above examples are all dealing with artificial porous media and have applications that do not directly involve soils (for more details, see the recent review by Sadeghnejad et al (2021)), they address important interactions that occur as well within soil environments but have yet to be captured by microscale models designed to describe and predict soil functions. Local accumulation of biomass and its metabolic by‐products in soils, although not in the form of continuous biofilms (Baveye, 2020; Flemming et al, 2021), can contribute to preferential flow paths. Feedback loops emerge that alter pore geometry, which in turn alters physical processes that impact biomass growth.…”

Section: Main Insights Derived From Microscale Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the joint impacts of soil architecture and microbial dynamics on soil functions: Insights derived from microscale models

Pot

Portell

Otten

et al. 2022

European J Soil Science

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Over the last decades, a new generation of microscale models has been developed to simulate soil microbial activity. An earlier article (Pot et al., 2021) presented a detailed review of the description of soil architecture and microbial dynamics in these models. In the present article, we summarise the main results obtained by these models according to six model outputs: growth and spatial organisation of microbial colonies, soil hydraulic conductivity, coexistence and trophic interactions of microorganisms, temporal dynamics of the amount of solid and dissolved organic matter in soil and, microbial production of CO 2 . For each of these outputs, we draw particular attention to the respective roles of soil architecture and microbial dynamics, and we report how microscale models allow for disentangling and quantifying them. We finally discuss limitations and future directions of microscale models in combination with the on-going development of highperformance imaging tools revealing the spatial heterogeneity of the actors of soil microbial activity. Highlights• We review the insights on soil functions derived from microscale models of soil microbial processes.• Microscale models disentangle the complex interactions between soil architecture and microbial dynamics.• Spatial accessibility of resources to microbes, growth and ecological interactions are key factors in soil functions.• Translation of knowledge of interactions at the microscopic scale into larger scales is still in its infancy.

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Soil biofilms: Evolving concepts and ecological functions

Redmile-Gordon

Cai

et al. 2023

Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment

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“Soil biofilms”: Misleading description of the spatial distribution of microbial biomass in soils

Cited by 6 publications

References 44 publications

Who put the film in biofilm? The migration of a term from wastewater engineering to medicine and beyond

Who put the film in biofilm? The migration of a term from wastewater engineering to medicine and beyond

Understanding the joint impacts of soil architecture and microbial dynamics on soil functions: Insights derived from microscale models

Soil biofilms: Evolving concepts and ecological functions

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