TY - JOUR

T1 - Pattern differentiation in co-culture biofilms formed by Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa

AU - Yang, Liang

AU - Liu, Yang

AU - Markussen, Trine

AU - Høiby, Niels

AU - Tolker-Nielsen, Tim

AU - Molin, Søren

N1 - © 2011 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

PY - 2011/8/1

Y1 - 2011/8/1

N2 - Biofilm infections may not simply be the result of colonization by one bacterium, but rather the consequence of pathogenic contributions from several bacteria. Interspecies interactions of different organisms in mixed-species biofilms remain largely unexplained, but knowledge of these is very important for understanding of biofilm physiology and the treatment of biofilm-related infectious diseases. Here, we have investigated interactions of two of the major bacterial species of cystic fibrosis lung microbial communities -Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus- when grown in co-culture biofilms. By growing co-culture biofilms of S. aureus with P. aeruginosa mutants in a flow-chamber system and observing them using confocal laser scanning microscopy, we show that wild-type P. aeruginosa PAO1 facilitates S. aureus microcolony formation. In contrast, P. aeruginosa mucA and rpoN mutants do not facilitate S. aureus microcolony formation and tend to outcompete S. aureus in co-culture biofilms. Further investigations reveal that extracellular DNA (eDNA) plays an important role in S. aureus microcolony formation and that P. aeruginosa type IV pili are required for this process, probably through their ability to bind to eDNA. Furthermore, P. aeruginosa is able to protect S. aureus against Dictyostelium discoideum phagocytosis in co-culture biofilms.

AB - Biofilm infections may not simply be the result of colonization by one bacterium, but rather the consequence of pathogenic contributions from several bacteria. Interspecies interactions of different organisms in mixed-species biofilms remain largely unexplained, but knowledge of these is very important for understanding of biofilm physiology and the treatment of biofilm-related infectious diseases. Here, we have investigated interactions of two of the major bacterial species of cystic fibrosis lung microbial communities -Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus- when grown in co-culture biofilms. By growing co-culture biofilms of S. aureus with P. aeruginosa mutants in a flow-chamber system and observing them using confocal laser scanning microscopy, we show that wild-type P. aeruginosa PAO1 facilitates S. aureus microcolony formation. In contrast, P. aeruginosa mucA and rpoN mutants do not facilitate S. aureus microcolony formation and tend to outcompete S. aureus in co-culture biofilms. Further investigations reveal that extracellular DNA (eDNA) plays an important role in S. aureus microcolony formation and that P. aeruginosa type IV pili are required for this process, probably through their ability to bind to eDNA. Furthermore, P. aeruginosa is able to protect S. aureus against Dictyostelium discoideum phagocytosis in co-culture biofilms.

KW - Biofilms

KW - Coculture Techniques

KW - DNA, Bacterial

KW - Dictyostelium

KW - Fimbriae Proteins

KW - Microscopy, Confocal

KW - Mutation

KW - Phagocytosis

KW - Pseudomonas aeruginosa

KW - RNA Polymerase Sigma 54

KW - Staphylococcus aureus

KW - Symbiosis

UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-695X.2011.00820.x

U2 - 10.1111/j.1574-695X.2011.00820.x

DO - 10.1111/j.1574-695X.2011.00820.x

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 21595754

VL - 62

SP - 339

EP - 347

JO - Pathogens and Disease

JF - Pathogens and Disease

SN - 2049-632X

IS - 3

ER -