Evolution in Biofilms 

The group aims at improving the treatment of biofilm-related infections by studying the evolution in biofilms with special interest in the development of resistance to antimicrobials and in understanding the role of the immune response in bacterial evolution. The group is also engaged in investigating new biofilm treatment strategies including bacteriophage treatment.

 

 

 

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a leading cause of death around the world urging research to improve our understanding of this important human health threat and to develop solutions.

We want to answer fundamental questions on mutagenesis leading to AMR in biofilm-growing pathogens and investigate new therapeutic solutions.

Three main questions wished to be answered:

  1. How do bacteria adaptively evolve when growing in biofilms exposed to antimicrobial agents, such as antibiotics and bacteriophages?
  2. How does host immunity influence the evolution of antibiotic resistance?
  3. How do we optimize the treatment of biofilm infections preventing AMR development?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Læge Sofus Carl Emil Friis og Hustru Olga Doris Friis' Legat
  • Aase og Ejnar Danielsens Fond

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We collaborate with:

  • DTU Bioengineering, Institut for Bioteknologi og Biomedicin, Denmark
  • KU, Marine Biological Section, Denmark
  • Institute of Pharmacy, Ku, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • University of Leiden, Division of Systems Biomedicine and Pharmacology, the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR), The Netherlands
  • Ciberes-IDIBAPS, University of Barcelona, Spain
  • Bereichsleiterin Laborforschung, Institut für Infektionsmedizin und Krankenhaushygiene, Jena, Germany
  • Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Hannover, Germany
  • Universitat des les Illes Balears, Palma de Mallorca, Spain

 

  • Adela M Luján, Steve Paterson, Elze Hesse, Lea M Sommer, Rasmus L Marvig, M D Sharma, Ellinor O Alseth1, Oana Ciofu, Andrea M Smania, Søren Molin, Helle Krogh Johansen and Angus Buckling "Polymicrobial infections can select against Pseudomonas aeruginosa mutators because of Quorum Sensing tradeoffs." Nat Ecol Evol. 2022 Jul;6(7):979-988. doi: 10.1038/s41559-022-01768-1. Epub 2022 May 26. (IF=15).

  • Ciofu, O., Moser. C, Jensen, P.Ø, Høiby, N. “Tolerance and resistance of microbial biofilms”, Nature Reviews Microbiology 2022 10.1038/s41579-022-00682-4 (IF=60)

  • Ahmed MN., Abdelsamad A, Wassermann, T., Porse A., Becker, J., Sommer M.O.A, Høiby, N and Ciofu O. “The evolutionary trajectories of P. aeruginosa in biofilm and planktonic growth modes exposed to ciprofloxacin: beyond selection of antibiotic resistance.” NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2020 Jul 24;6(1):28. (IF= 7.067).

  • Ciofu O., Smith S., Lykkesfeldt J ”Antioxidant supplementation for lung disease in cystic fibrosis” Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2019 Oct 3;10(10):CD007020. (IF=6.754)

  • Ahmed MN, Porse A, Abdelsamad A, Sommer M, Høiby N, Ciofu O. Lack of the Major Multifunctional Catalase KatA in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Accelerates Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance in Ciprofloxacin-Treated Biofilms.  Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2019 Sep 23;63(10):e00766-19. doi: 10.1128/AAC.00766-19. (IF= 4.715).

  • Ciofu, O and Tolker-Nielsen, T. “Tolerance and resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms to antimicrobial agents-how P.aeruginosa can escape antibiotics” Frontiers in Microbiology, May 2019, volume 10, article 913. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2019.00913 (IF= 4.259) (As of May/June 2021, this Highly cited received enough citations to place it in the top 1% of the academic field of Microbiology based on a highly cited threshold for the field and publication year).

  • Henriksen, Karoline; Rørbo, Nanna; Rybtke, Morten; Martinet, Mark Grevsen; Tolker-Nielsen, Tim; Høiby, Niels; Middelboe, Mathias; Ciofu, Oana “P. aeruginosa flow-cell biofilms are enhanced by repeated phage treatments but can be eradicated by phage-ciprofloxacin combination- monitoring of the phage-P. aeruginosa biofilms interactions” Pathog Dis. 2019 Mar 1;77(2). pii: ftz011. doi: 10.1093/femspd/ftz011(IF =2.02) ( highly cited paper identified as among the articles which have made the most impact across the portfolio –)

  • Ahmed MN, Porse A, Sommer MOA, Høiby N, Ciofu O. “Evolution of antibiotic resistance in biofilm and planktonic P. aeruginosa populations exposed to sub-inhibitory levels of ciprofloxacin”. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2018 Jul 27;62(8).  (IF= 4.715).

  • Isabella Sjölander, Frank Hansen, Abdelraouf Elmanama, Rasha Khayyat, Alaeddin Abu-Zant, Ayman Hussein, Adham Abu Taha, Anette M Hammerum, Oana Ciofu  Detection of multidrug-resistant bacteria in the occupied Palestinian territory: a cross-sectional study, 2017, The Lancet, 390 August S12

  • Zaborskyte G, Andersen JB, Kragh KN, Ciofu O. “Real-Time Monitoring of nfxB Mutant Occurrence and Dynamics in Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm Exposed to Subinhibitory Concentrations of Ciprofloxacin”. Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2017 Feb 23;61(3).(IF= 4.255)

 

 

 

Ongoing projects in the Ciofu Group

Contact

Professor Oana Ciofu

Oana Ciofu
Professor

Email

Join the Ciofu group

Staff list

Name Title Phone E-mail
Ciofu, Oana Professor +4535327899 E-mail
Higazy, Doaa Mohamed Mohamed E PhD Student   E-mail
Mørk, Louise Laboratory Technician +4535336603 E-mail