Institute for Wine Biotechnology, Faculty of AgriSciences, University of Stellenbosch, Private Bag X1, Matieland, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa.
Appl Microbiol Biotechnol. 2010 Sep;88(1):31-9. doi: 10.1007/s00253-010-2783-0. Epub 2010 Jul 31.
Adhesion properties of microorganisms are crucial for many essential biological processes such as sexual reproduction, tissue or substrate invasion, biofilm formation and others. Most, if not all microbial adhesion phenotypes are controlled by factors such as nutrient availability or the presence of pheromones. One particular form of controlled cellular adhesion that occurs in liquid environments is a process of asexual aggregation of cells which is also referred to as flocculation. This process has been the subject of significant scientific and biotechnological interest because of its relevance for many industrial fermentation processes. Specifically adjusted flocculation properties of industrial microorganisms could indeed lead to significant improvements in the processing of biotechnological fermentation products such as foods, biofuels and industrially produced peptides. This review briefly summarises our current scientific knowledge on the regulation of flocculation-related phenotypes, their importance for different biotechnological industries, and possible future applications for microorganisms with improved flocculation properties.
微生物的粘附特性对于许多重要的生物过程至关重要，例如有性繁殖、组织或基质入侵、生物膜形成等。大多数（如果不是全部的话）微生物的粘附表型都受到营养物质的可用性或信息素存在等因素的控制。在液体环境中发生的一种特殊形式的受控细胞粘附是细胞的无性聚集过程，也称为絮凝。由于其与许多工业发酵过程的相关性，该过程引起了科学界和生物技术界的极大兴趣。工业微生物的具体调整的絮凝特性确实可以在生物技术发酵产品（如食品、生物燃料和工业生产的肽）的加工方面带来显著的改进。这篇综述简要总结了我们目前关于絮凝相关表型调控的科学知识，它们对不同生物技术产业的重要性，以及具有改善絮凝特性的微生物的可能未来应用。
