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4 Apr 2019

Bacteria produce something called a biofilm.

I have found a few definitions; some say it is a complex of liveand dead bacteria and others say it is a layer on cell wall.

  1. What is it made of?
  2. What is its purpose?
  3. How do we combat biofilms when we encounter them?

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Sixta Kovacek
Sixta KovacekLv2
5 Apr 2019

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Related questions

There is a topic that I am having a hard time understanding. What is the difference between a Prokaryotic Cell and a Eukaryotic Cell? I know what we (humans) are made of Eukaryotic Cells and foreign cells (bacteria) are prokaryotic cells. What's confusing me is when my textbook talks about them both having a cell wall. Prokaryotic Cells have a complex polysaccharide peptoglycan cell wall along with its membranes. Then it states that Eukaryotic Cells also cell walls, they are just simple composed of cellulose. When I hear the words Cell Wall, I immediately think of plants cells, not bacteria and animal cells. In this situation, does the term cell wall have a different meaning? Maybe I am over thinking this. Just an FYI this is for Microbiology, feel free to go into detail.

5. Some bacteria live in deep sea vents where no light penetrates, yet are still capable of producing their own reduced carbon (e.g. fixing carbon dioxide). These organisms are classified as

(A) photoheterotroph (B) photoautotroph

(C)chemoheterotroph (D)chemoautotroph

(E) organotroph

6. Nitrogen fixation is the conversion of

(A) ammonium ion to nitrogen gas. (B) nitrogen gas to ammonium ion.

(C)nitrate ion to nitrogen gas. (D)ammonium ion to nitrate ion.

(E) nitrate ion to ammonium ion.

7. Which of the following is true of complex media?

(A) Bacteria grow faster on them than on synthetic media.

(B) All the chemical components and their concentrations are known.

(C)Complex media are the most difficult of all to prepare.

(D)Complex media can help determine the metabolic capacity of an organism.

(E) They are also called minimal media.

8. Which of the following types of growth media contains blood?

(A) minimal media (B) complex media

(C)defined media (D)enriched media

(E) selective media

9. The bile salts and crystal violet in MacConkey lactose plates prevent the growth of Gram-positives. These additives make the MacConkey plate a

(A) complex medium. (B) defined medium.

(C)minimal medium. (D)selective medium.

(E) differential medium.

10. You discover a new bacterial efflux pump that moves an uncharged toxin out of the cell using the proton motive force as the energy source. This new transporter can be classified as an

(A) electrogenic antiporter (B) electrogenic symporter

(C)electroneutral antiporter (D)electroneutral symporter

(E) none of the above

11. Which of the following involves nitrate as a terminal electron acceptor?

(A) photosynthesis (B) aerobic respiration

(C)fermentation (D)anaerobic respiration

(E) glycolysis

12. Which of the following is least likely to use glucose (an organic molecule) as a source of electrons?

(A) lithotrophy (B) organotrophy

(C)aerobic respiration (D)anaerobic respiration

(E) heterotrophy

17. Which of the following nutrient uptake systems does not require cellular energy?

(A) facilitated diffusion (B) coupled transport

(C)ABC transporters (D)group translocation

(E) All of the above require energy expenditure by the cell

18. What is the energy source for ABC transporters?

(A) proton motive force (B) NADH

(C)phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) (D)ATP

(E) No energy is required for ABC transport.

19. Which of the following is true of all biofilms?

(A) They only contain a single species of bacteria.

(B) Biofilms can form on a range of biotic or abiotic surfaces.

(C)Cells in a biofilm are dormant until the bacteria leave the biofilm.

(D)Biofilms are composed of a single monolayer of EPS.

(E) Biofilms are not found in or on the human body.

20. The heterocyst cells of cyanobacteria are specialized for

(A) photosynthesis (B) gliding motility

(C)nitrogen fixation (D)carbon fixation

(E) antibiotic production

During the golden age of antibiotic discovery, many new antibiotics were isolated from the soil. Recent studies have found that soil bacteria are naturally resistant to most antibotics. Some of the soil bacteria may even use antibiotics as a nutrient source. Antibiotics must kill a broad spectrum of bacteria while being absorbed harmlessly by the body. Most antibiotics were developed based on Ehrlich "magic bullet" paradigm which is suited to testing antibiotic efficacy in a lab. However, infections are more complex than a pure culture on media in a petri plate. Antibiotic resistance conjures up the pre-antibiotic era of medicine in the early 20th century. The emergence of a plasmid mediated resistance to carbopenems, a last-line drug against a variety of bacteria was alarming to public health workers. Antibiotics may cause collateral damage like a C. diff infection that leads to colitis.

5. Why is a bacterial infection that involves a biofilm harder to control with antibiotics than an infection which does not involve a biofilm?

6. Explain how taking antibiotics would cause the bacteria Clostridium difficle, which is part of the healthy colon microbiome, to become pathogenic?

7. How do bacteria resist antibiotics?

Bacteria also develop resistance to biocides. Traditional cleaning methods for equipment may have limitations. For example, patients who recieve a bed used by a prior patient with a bacterial infection are at an increased risk for being colonized and infected by that same bacteria. In addition, bacteria in a healthcare setting are exposed to disinfection which selects for the resistant members of that bacterial population. No-touch methods of disinfection, i.e. uv light or hydrogen peroxide vapor, of equipment may be an improvement. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29214175# (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..

8. Are biofilms a concern when disinfecting equipment? Why?

During the Flint, MI water crises as levels of chlorine fell in the drinking water cases of Legionnaires' disease increased. Legionnaires' disease is a water borne infectious disease caused by Legionella. One study reported that for every drop in cholorine concentration of mg/L of river water the odds of a reported case of Legionnaire's disease increased by 80%, thus establishing not causation but association. Some argued that Legionella is tolerant of chlorine, espceillay when it grows in biofilms and that the temperature difference between lake and river water accounts for the increase in Legionella infections. The recommended level of chlorine to treat water for drinking is 0.2-0.5 mg/L.

doi:10.1126/science.aat2210 Was Flint’s deadly Legionnaires’ epidemic caused by low chlorine levels in the water supply? David Shult (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.z

Was Flint’s deadly Legionnaires’ epidemic caused by low chlorine levels in the water supply?

9. What effect would increasing the concentration of chlorine to 1.4 mg/L have had on the people who drink Flint water?

10. What happens to the water pipes when chlorine levels are increased to control bacteria? Could these uninteded consequences increase bacterial growth?

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