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Microorganisms
Special Issues
Microbial Biofilms: New Insights into Formation, Resistance and Control
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Microbial Biofilms: New Insights into Formation, Resistance and Control

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Biofilm".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2025 | Viewed by 3522

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Marius Stefan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
BioActive Research Group, Faculty of Biology, University Alexandru Ioan Cuza of Iasi, Iasi, Romania
Interests: plant–microbial interactions; PGPR; biofertilizers; biopesticides
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Biofilms are structured microbial communities formed on different surfaces which play an important role for the protection and survival of microorganisms against environmental stresses. Adherent cells are well known for their resilience and resistance to different antimicrobial agents. Therefore, biofilms pose significant medical challenges when pathogenic bacteria or fungi adhere to medical devices and wounds, leading to chronic infections that are difficult and sometimes impossible to treat. Understanding biofilm formation, as well as their structure, may provide essential information for developing new effective strategies to prevent biofilm formation or eradicate existing biofilms, leading to innovative therapeutic solutions.

Authors are invited to submit their latest original findings on biofilm formation, structure, and communication of biofilm cells as well as strategies used to control microbial biofilms to this Microorganisms Special Issue entitled “Microbial Biofilms: New Insights into Formation, Resistance and Control”.

Dr. Marius Stefan
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. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). 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

  • biofilm formation
  • biofilm surfaces
  • biofilm structure
  • multi-species biofilms
  • microbial communities
  • biofilm communication
  • biofilm cells resistance
  • biofilm control
  • new antibiofilm agents

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

23 pages, 25297 KiB  
Article
Bacterial Adhesion on Soft Surfaces: The Dual Role of Substrate Stiffness and Bacterial Growth Stage
by René Riedel, Garima Rani and Anupam Sengupta
Microorganisms 2025, 13(3), 637; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms13030637 - 11 Mar 2025
Viewed by 1136
Abstract
The surface adhesion and stiffness of underlying substrates mediate the geometry, mechanics, and self-organization of expanding bacterial colonies. Recent studies have qualitatively indicted that stiffness may impact bacterial attachment and accumulation, yet the variation in the cell-to-surface adhesion with substrate stiffness remains to [...] Read more.
The surface adhesion and stiffness of underlying substrates mediate the geometry, mechanics, and self-organization of expanding bacterial colonies. Recent studies have qualitatively indicted that stiffness may impact bacterial attachment and accumulation, yet the variation in the cell-to-surface adhesion with substrate stiffness remains to be quantified. Here, by developing a cell-level force–distance spectroscopy (FDS) technique based on atomic force microscopy (AFM), we simultaneously quantify the cell–surface adhesion and stiffness of the underlying substrates to reveal the stiffness-dependent adhesion of the phototrophic bacterium Chromatium okenii. As the stiffness of the soft substrate, modeled using a low-melting-point (LMP) agarose pad, was varied between 20 kPa and 120 kPa by changing the agarose concentrations, we observed a progressive increase in the mean adhesion force by over an order of magnitude, from 0.21±0.10 nN to 2.42±1.16 nN. In contrast, passive polystyrene (PS) microparticles of comparable dimensions showed no perceptible change in their surface adhesion, confirming that the stiffness-dependent adhesive interaction of C. okenii is of a biological origin. Furthermore, for Escherichia coli, the cell–surface adhesion varied between 0.29±0.17 nN and 0.39±0.20 nN, showing a weak dependence on the substrate stiffness, thus suggesting that stiffness-modulated adhesion is a species-specific trait. Finally, by quantifying the adhesion of the C. okenii population across different timescales, we reported the emergent co-existence of weak and strongly adherent sub-populations, demonstrating diversification of the adherent phenotypes over the growth stages. Taken together, these findings suggest that bacteria, depending on the species and their physiological stage, may actively modulate cell-to-surface adhesion in response to the stiffness of soft surfaces. While the surface properties, for instance, hydrophobicity (or hydrophilicity), play a key role in mediating bacterial attachment, this work introduces substrate stiffness as a biophysical parameter that could reinforce or suppress effective surface interactions. Our results suggest how bacteria could leverage stiffness-dependent adhesion and the diversity therein as functional traits to modulate their initial attachment to, colonization of, and proliferation on soft substrates during the early stages of biofilm development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Biofilms: New Insights into Formation, Resistance and Control)
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15 pages, 7584 KiB  
Article
5-Fluorouracil Inhibits Bacterial Growth and Reduces Biofilm in Addition to Having Synergetic Effects with Gentamicin Against Pseudomonas aeruginosa
by Amani A. Niazy, May M. Alrashed, Rhodanne Nicole A. Lambarte and Abdurahman A. Niazy
Microorganisms 2024, 12(11), 2257; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12112257 - 7 Nov 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1313
Abstract
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a multidrug-resistant pathogen known for chronic infections, mainly due to biofilm formation. This study aimed to explore the potential repurposing of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), an anticancer drug, to treat P. aeruginosa infections. Firstly, we investigated the inhibitory effects of 5-FU on [...] Read more.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a multidrug-resistant pathogen known for chronic infections, mainly due to biofilm formation. This study aimed to explore the potential repurposing of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), an anticancer drug, to treat P. aeruginosa infections. Firstly, we investigated the inhibitory effects of 5-FU on bacterial growth using the microdilution method. Secondly, the impact of 5-FU on biofilm formation and disassembly was assessed via biofilm biomass measurements with the crystal violet staining method and confocal microscopy analyses. Lastly, the potential synergy between 5-FU and the antibiotics gentamicin and meropenem was evaluated using a checkerboard assay. Results revealed that 5-FU inhibited bacterial growth in a dose-dependent manner, with 100% inhibition observed at concentrations of 25 µg/mL and higher. Also, 70% and 100% reductions in biofilm biomass were demonstrated at concentrations of 12 and 100 µg/mL, respectively. Controversy, these higher concentrations unexpectedly increased biofilm biomass in pre-formed biofilms. Synergistic interactions were observed between 5-FU and gentamicin in both growth inhibition (FICI 0.31) and biofilm inhibition (ZIP 14.1), while no synergy was found with meropenem. These findings highlight the potential of 5-FU as an adjunctive therapy for P. aeruginosa infections, especially in combination with gentamicin. However, further research is required to address 5-FU limitations against mature biofilms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Microbial Biofilms: New Insights into Formation, Resistance and Control)
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