The bacterial cell envelope as a morphogenetic code for biofilm development
Qin, Jilong, Kinobe, Robert, Schaeffer, Patrick M., and Hong, Yaoqin (2025) The bacterial cell envelope as a morphogenetic code for biofilm development. Microbiology Australia, 46 (4).
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Abstract
Most microbes in nature, such as bacteria, rarely exist as solitary, free-floating cells. Instead, they organise into structured and densely populated communities known as biofilms. A biofilm can be thought of as a microbial city, in which the inhabitants are the bacteria that are within a protective scaffold called the extracellular matrix (ECM) produced by themselves. The ECM is composed of polysaccharides, proteins, lipids, and extracellular DNA.1
The ECM provides far more than structural support. It creates a formidable barrier against both physical and chemical disturbances, limiting the penetration of antimicrobial agents.1 This often establishes antibiotic concentration gradients, exposing subsets of cells to sublethal or subinhibitory levels that promote adaptation and the evolution of resistance.2 In addition, dormant subpopulations within the biofilm are intrinsically tolerant to chemical inhibition, further contributing to persistence.3 In clinical contexts, this recalcitrance presents a major challenge, allowing pathogens such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a leading cause of chronic lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients, and Escherichia coli, the most common agent of urinary tract infections, to establish difficult-to-treat infections. Biofilms are not inherently detrimental. Their mechanochemical stability and cooperative behaviour between bacterial members can be harnessed for beneficial applications. Examples of these include the production of polymeric substances that trap contaminants and aid microbial degradation during wastewater treatment, biomineralisation for metal recovery, and the industrial production of valuable biopolymers.4,5 This duality, as a threat to human or animal health and a useful biotechnological tool, calls for a better understanding and control of biofilm development in microbiology.
| Item ID: | 90255 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Short Note) |
| ISSN: | 2201-9189 |
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| Copyright Information: | © 2025 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of the ASM. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY) |
| Date Deposited: | 25 Feb 2026 02:31 |
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