Pathogenesis of Polymicrobial Biofilms

In polymicrobial biofilms a high level of interspecies interactions occur with often detrimental effect to the host. Many chronic infections are attributed to polymicrobial biofilms which tend to exhibit increased resistance to antimicrobial therapy. Yet despite the gravity of such infections, areas of study in polymicrobial diseases are in their infancy. Thus, much work is needed to promote a better understanding of emerging concepts in the biofilm development process such as interspecies communication and host immune response to microbial biofilms. The key challenges are to design effective therapeutic strategies to impede microbial colonization and prevent development of polymicrobial infections. Therefore, future research directions should focus on designing animal model systems to study in vivo-grown polymicrobial biofilms and infections. This review summarizes our limited knowledge about the nature of these complex communities and examines their role in disease, highlighting the challenges and novel approaches that are being pursued to combat polymicrobial biofilms and infections.