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Mixed Biofilms: Interbacterial Interactions and Antimicrobial Susceptibility
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Mixed Biofilms: Interbacterial Interactions and Antimicrobial Susceptibility

A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 6714

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Airat Kayumov

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Genetics, Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan (Volga Region) Federal University, Kremlyovskaya St. 18, Kazan 420008, Russia
Interests: antibiotics resistance; biofilms, interbacterial interaction, nitrogen metabolism regulation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The worldwide spread of pathogenic bacteria resistant or tolerant to conventional antimicrobials has drastically decreased the number of options available for the treatment of infectious diseases and has thus become a global challenge in healthcare. Furthermore, the coexistence of different microorganisms in mixed communities presents additional challenges to treatment compared to monospecific infections. Due to the inter-bacterial and bacterial–fungal interactions in consortium, changes in metabolism and morphology occur, which consequently lead to altered susceptibility to antimicrobials. In addition, biofilm formation plays an important role in bacterial protection from a treatment. Being embedded into the biofilm matrix, microorganisms become insusceptible to antimicrobials due to the diffusional barrier, and they are more virulent and capable of adhering to surfaces and causing chronic infection. Therefore, the development of novel universal antimicrobials or approaches to potentiate conventional ones against mixed microbial communities (bacterial–bacterial and bacterial–fungal) is urgently required to overcome the crisis in antibiotic therapy.

This Special Issue aims to publish original papers and reviews devoted to the explanation of the molecular mechanisms of inter-bacterial and bacterial–fungal interactions in consortia, the impact of these interactions on microbial susceptibility to antimicrobials, and the development of possible approaches to use this knowledge to improve the treatment options.

Dr. Airat Kayumov
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Molecular Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. There is an Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal. For details about the APC please see here. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • bacteria
  • micromycetes
  • biofilm
  • mixed biofilm
  • susceptibility to antimicrobials
  • synergy
  • molecular mechanisms of interbacterial interaction

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 1544 KiB  
Article
Dual-Species Biofilms: Biomass, Viable Cell Ratio/Cross-Species Interactions, Conjugative Transfer
by Marina V. Kuznetsova, Julia S. Pospelova, Irina L. Maslennikova and Marjanca Starčič Erjavec
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(19), 14497; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms241914497 - 24 Sep 2023
Viewed by 871
Abstract
Biofilms as a form of adaptation are beneficial for bacterial survival and may be hot spots for horizontal gene transfer, including conjugation. The aim of this research was to characterize the biofilm biomass, viable cell ratios and conjugative transfer of the pOX38 plasmid, [...] Read more.
Biofilms as a form of adaptation are beneficial for bacterial survival and may be hot spots for horizontal gene transfer, including conjugation. The aim of this research was to characterize the biofilm biomass, viable cell ratios and conjugative transfer of the pOX38 plasmid, an F-plasmid derivative, from the Escherichia coli N4i pOX38 strain (donor) into a uropathogenic E. coli DL82 strain (recipient) within dual-species biofilms with one of the following opportunistic pathogenic bacteria: Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterococcus faecalis or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Dual-species biofilms of E. coli with K. pneumoniae or P. aeruginosa but not E. faecalis were more massive and possessed more exopolysaccharide matrix compared to single-species biofilms of donor and recipient cells. Correlation between biofilm biomass and exopolysaccharide matrix was rs = 0.888 in dual-species biofilms. In dual-species biofilm with E. faecalis the proportion of E. coli was the highest, while in the biofilm with P. aeruginosa and K. pneumoniae, the E. coli was less abundant. The conjugative frequencies of plasmid transfer in dual-species biofilms of E. coli with E. faecalis and P. aeruginosa were reduced. A decrease in conjugative frequency was also observed when cell-free supernatants (CFSs) of E. faecalis and P. aeruginosa were added to the E. coli conjugation mixture. Further, the activity of the autoinducer AI-2 in the CFSs of the E. coli conjugation mixture was reduced when bacteria or CFSs of E. faecalis and P. aeruginosa were added to the E. coli conjugation mixture. Hence, the intercellular and interspecies interactions in dual-species biofilms depend on the partners involved. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mixed Biofilms: Interbacterial Interactions and Antimicrobial Susceptibility)
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18 pages, 9302 KiB  
Article
Alterations in Antibiotic Susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae in Dual Species Biofilms
by Anna V. Mironova, Agniya V. Karimova, Mikhail I. Bogachev, Airat R. Kayumov and Elena Y. Trizna
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(10), 8475; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24108475 - 09 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1838
Abstract
In the last decades, it has been shown that biofilm-associated infections in most cases are caused by rather two or even more pathogens than by single microorganisms. Due to intermicrobial interactions in mixed communities, bacteria change their gene expression profile, in turn leading [...] Read more.
In the last decades, it has been shown that biofilm-associated infections in most cases are caused by rather two or even more pathogens than by single microorganisms. Due to intermicrobial interactions in mixed communities, bacteria change their gene expression profile, in turn leading to alterations in the biofilm structure and properties, as well as susceptibility to antimicrobials. Here, we report the alterations of antimicrobials efficiency in mixed biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus–Klebsiella pneumoniae in comparison with mono-species biofilms of each counterpart and discuss possible mechanisms of these alterations. In cell clumps detached from dual-species biofilms, S. aureus became insensitive to vancomycin, ampicillin, and ceftazidime compared to solely S. aureus cell clumps. In turn, the increased efficiency of amikacin and ciprofloxacin against both bacteria could be observed, compared to mono-species biofilms of each counterpart. Scanning electron microscopy and confocal microscopy indicate the porous structure of the dual-species biofilm, and differential fluorescent staining revealed an increased number of polysaccharides in the matrix, in turn leading to more loose structure and thus apparently providing increased permeability of the dual-species biofilm to antimicrobials. The qRT-PCR showed that ica operon in S. aureus became repressed in mixed communities, and polysaccharides are produced mainly by K. pneumoniae. While the molecular trigger of these changes remains undiscovered, detailed knowledge of the alterations in antibiotic susceptibility to given drugs opens doors for treatment correction options for S. aureus–K. pneumoniae biofilm-associated infections. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mixed Biofilms: Interbacterial Interactions and Antimicrobial Susceptibility)
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16 pages, 2624 KiB  
Article
The Role of Intercellular Signaling in the Regulation of Bacterial Adaptive Proliferation
by Olga Petrova, Olga Parfirova, Natalia Gogoleva, Vladimir Vorob’ev, Yuri Gogolev and Vladimir Gorshkov
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(8), 7266; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24087266 - 14 Apr 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1119
Abstract
Bacterial adaptation is regulated at the population level with the involvement of intercellular communication (quorum sensing). When the population density is insufficient for adaptation under starvation, bacteria can adjust it to a quorum level through cell divisions at the expense of endogenous resources. [...] Read more.
Bacterial adaptation is regulated at the population level with the involvement of intercellular communication (quorum sensing). When the population density is insufficient for adaptation under starvation, bacteria can adjust it to a quorum level through cell divisions at the expense of endogenous resources. This phenomenon has been described for the phytopathogenic bacterium Pectobacterium atrosepticum (Pba), and it is called, in our study, adaptive proliferation. An important attribute of adaptive proliferation is its timely termination, which is necessary to prevent the waste of endogenous resources when the required level of population density is achieved. However, metabolites that provide the termination of adaptive proliferation remained unidentified. We tested the hypothesis of whether quorum sensing-related autoinducers prime the termination of adaptive proliferation and assessed whether adaptive proliferation is a common phenomenon in the bacterial world. We showed that both known Pba quorum sensing-related autoinducers act synergistically and mutually compensatory to provide the timely termination of adaptive proliferation and formation of cross-protection. We also demonstrated that adaptive proliferation is implemented by bacteria of many genera and that bacteria with similar quorum sensing-related autoinducers have similar signaling backgrounds that prime the termination of adaptive proliferation, enabling the collaborative regulation of this adaptive program in multispecies communities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mixed Biofilms: Interbacterial Interactions and Antimicrobial Susceptibility)
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14 pages, 12049 KiB  
Article
Streptococcus salivarius as an Important Factor in Dental Biofilm Homeostasis: Influence on Streptococcus mutans and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans in Mixed Biofilm
by Gabrijela Begić, Ivana Jelovica Badovinac, Ljerka Karleuša, Kristina Kralik, Olga Cvijanovic Peloza, Davor Kuiš and Ivana Gobin
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2023, 24(8), 7249; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24087249 - 14 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2359
Abstract
A disturbed balance within the dental biofilm can result in the dominance of cariogenic and periodontopathogenic species and disease development. Due to the failure of pharmacological treatment of biofilm infection, a preventive approach to promoting healthy oral microbiota is necessary. This study analyzed [...] Read more.
A disturbed balance within the dental biofilm can result in the dominance of cariogenic and periodontopathogenic species and disease development. Due to the failure of pharmacological treatment of biofilm infection, a preventive approach to promoting healthy oral microbiota is necessary. This study analyzed the influence of Streptococcus salivarius K12 on the development of a multispecies biofilm composed of Streptococcus mutans, S. oralis and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans. Four different materials were used: hydroxyapatite, dentin and two dense polytetrafluoroethylene (d-PTFE) membranes. Total bacteria, individual species and their proportions in the mixed biofilm were quantified. A qualitative analysis of the mixed biofilm was performed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). The results showed that in the presence of S. salivarius K 12 in the initial stage of biofilm development, the proportion of S. mutans was reduced, which resulted in the inhibition of microcolony development and the complex three-dimensional structure of the biofilm. In the mature biofilm, a significantly lower proportion of the periodontopathogenic species A. actinomycetemcomitans was found in the salivarius biofilm. Our results show that S. salivarius K 12 can inhibit the growth of pathogens in the dental biofilm and help maintain the physiological balance in the oral microbiome. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mixed Biofilms: Interbacterial Interactions and Antimicrobial Susceptibility)
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