Big Bad Biofilms: How Communities of Bacteria Cause Long-Term Infections
نویسندگان
چکیده
Bacteria are tiny living things that like to attach to surfaces. Most bacteria are harmless, but if the harmful bacteria get into the human body where they do not belong, they can cause an infection. Infections make the human body very sick. Most infections with bacteria can be cured by antibiotics, but not infections caused by biofilms! Biofilms are communities of bacteria living together and covered in protective sticky goo, and most antibiotics do not work against them. Here, we explain how biofilms protect bacteria from antibiotics, and what we can do to fight with these long-term infections.
منابع مشابه
Effects of biofilm formation in bacteria from different perspectives
Bacterial communities are able to form complex and three-dimensional biofilm structures. Biofilm formation is an ancient and integral component of the prokaryotic life cycle and a key factor for survival in diverse niches. In biofilms, bacterial lifestyle changes from free-floating cells to sessile cells. Presence in biofilms gives new traits to bacteria, which distinguish them from free cells....
متن کاملEvaluation of Antibiotic Resistance and Biofilm Formation Ability Uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) Isolated From Pregnant Women in Karaj
Background and Objective: Uropathogenic Escherichia coli (UPEC) are the most common cause of urinary tract infections. The binding of these bacteria to epithelial cells and the formation of biofilms cause these bacteria to be further colonized and difficult to remove in the urinary tract. This study aimed to determine the antibiotic resistance and to evaluate the biofilm formation power in Esch...
متن کاملBacterial Biofilms Resist Key Host Defenses
B acteria have long intrigued, terrified, and baffled humans. Although most microorganisms are not pathogenic to humans, the thought of microbes existing everywhere can have a dramatic effect on the psyche. Once-specialized terms and acronyms, such as Staph, for Staphylococcus aureus, MRSA, for methicillin-resistant S. aureus, and XDR, for extensively drugresistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a...
متن کاملMicrobiology: Breaking Down Biofilms
Biofilms--adherent bacterial communities embedded in a polymer matrix--are common in nature and can cause persistent human infections that are highly resistant to antibiotics. Recent work provides insight into how these communities develop and function, and offers clues to combating them.
متن کاملBiofilm Matrix and Its Regulation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa
Biofilms are communities of microorganisms embedded in extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) matrix. Bacteria in biofilms demonstrate distinct features from their free-living planktonic counterparts, such as different physiology and high resistance to immune system and antibiotics that render biofilm a source of chronic and persistent infections. A deeper understanding of biofilms will ultim...
متن کامل