IBB-Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
Curr Microbiol. 2012 Feb;64(2):93-9. doi: 10.1007/s00284-011-0037-8. Epub 2011 Oct 20.
Fungal surface hydrophobicity is involved in several functions in fungal growth and development. Water contact angles measurement has been used as a direct and simple approach for its characterisation in solid cultures. Microsphere adhesion assay is said to be the best method to assess cell hydrophobicity of filamentous fungi. This study aimed to apply these two methods to study hydrophobicity of Penicillium expansum and Penicillium brevicompactum grown as mycelial mats in solid culture, liquid culture and water biofilms. As result, both species in solid cultures were classified as hydrophobic with contact angles ≥90º, but in liquid cultures and water biofilms showed different levels of hydrophobicity when microsphere adhesion assay was applied. In addition, was found that biofilms have specific hydrophobic hyphae which may be involved in fungal ecological functions.
真菌表面疏水性涉及真菌生长和发育的多种功能。水接触角测量已被用作其在固体培养物中特性的直接和简单方法。微球附着测定法被认为是评估丝状真菌细胞疏水性的最佳方法。本研究旨在应用这两种方法研究固体培养物中扩展青霉和短密青霉菌丝垫生长时的疏水性、液体培养物和水生物膜。结果表明，两种真菌在固体培养物中均被归类为疏水性，接触角≥90°，但在液体培养物和水生物膜中，当应用微球附着测定法时，表现出不同程度的疏水性。此外，还发现生物膜具有特定的疏水性菌丝，可能参与真菌的生态功能。
