TY - JOUR

T1 - Studying bacterial multispecies biofilms

T2 - where to start?

AU - Røder, Henriette Lyng

AU - Sørensen, Søren Johannes

AU - Burmølle, Mette

PY - 2016

Y1 - 2016

N2 - The high prevalence and significance of multispecies biofilms have now been demonstrated in various bacterial habitats with medical, industrial, and ecological relevance. It is highly evident that several species of bacteria coexist and interact in biofilms, which highlights the need for evaluating the approaches used to study these complex communities. This review focuses on the establishment of multispecies biofilms in vitro, interspecies interactions in microhabitats, and how to select communities for evaluation. Studies have used different experimental approaches; here we evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of varying the degree of complexity. This review aims to facilitate multispecies biofilm research in order to expand the current limited knowledge on interspecies interactions. Recent technological advances have enabled total diversity analysis of highly complex and diverse microbial communities, but the identity and significance of interspecies bacterial interactions is neglected in these analyses. There is therefore an urgent need for bridging the gap between metagenomic analysis and in vitro models suitable for studies of bacterial interactions.Bacterial interactions and coadaptation are important at the microscale of complex communities, including biofilms.Studies of multispecies biofilms and the interactions shaping these are conducted in traditional approaches used for single-species biofilms with some adjustments; but a crucial point for consideration is which strains to combine and where these should be obtained from.Analysis of multispecies biofilms becomes increasingly complicated when enhancing community complexity.

AB - The high prevalence and significance of multispecies biofilms have now been demonstrated in various bacterial habitats with medical, industrial, and ecological relevance. It is highly evident that several species of bacteria coexist and interact in biofilms, which highlights the need for evaluating the approaches used to study these complex communities. This review focuses on the establishment of multispecies biofilms in vitro, interspecies interactions in microhabitats, and how to select communities for evaluation. Studies have used different experimental approaches; here we evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of varying the degree of complexity. This review aims to facilitate multispecies biofilm research in order to expand the current limited knowledge on interspecies interactions. Recent technological advances have enabled total diversity analysis of highly complex and diverse microbial communities, but the identity and significance of interspecies bacterial interactions is neglected in these analyses. There is therefore an urgent need for bridging the gap between metagenomic analysis and in vitro models suitable for studies of bacterial interactions.Bacterial interactions and coadaptation are important at the microscale of complex communities, including biofilms.Studies of multispecies biofilms and the interactions shaping these are conducted in traditional approaches used for single-species biofilms with some adjustments; but a crucial point for consideration is which strains to combine and where these should be obtained from.Analysis of multispecies biofilms becomes increasingly complicated when enhancing community complexity.

KW - Bacterial interactions

KW - Biofilm

KW - Communities

KW - in vitro

KW - Multispecies

U2 - 10.1016/j.tim.2016.02.019

DO - 10.1016/j.tim.2016.02.019

M3 - Review

C2 - 27004827

AN - SCOPUS:84962491989

VL - 24

SP - 503

EP - 513

JO - Trends in Microbiology

JF - Trends in Microbiology

SN - 0966-842X

IS - 6

ER -