Department of Environmental Microbiology, UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Leipzig, Germany.
Biofouling. 2012;28(3):351-62. doi: 10.1080/08927014.2012.673593.
Control or removal of undesired biofilms has frequently been found to be quite difficult. In addition to biocidal or antibiotic chemicals or materials designed to prevent biofouling, biological control agents appear to be promising. Reports of bacterial predators eradicating biofilms or eliminating pathogens motivate a more systematic screening of biofilm-eliminating bacterial predators. Unfortunately, the analysis of the eradication process is demanding. In the present study, chip-calorimetry was applied to monitor the elimination of Pseudomonas sp. biofilms by Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus. The method uses metabolic heat as a real-time parameter for biofilm activity. The method is non-invasive, fast and convenient due to real-time data acquisition. In addition, heat-production data can reveal information about the energetics of the predator-prey interaction. The calorimetric results were validated by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The approach described may be useful for the screening of biofilm susceptibility to different predators.
控制或去除不需要的生物膜通常被发现是相当困难的。除了杀菌或抗生素化学物质或设计用于防止生物污垢的材料外，生物控制剂似乎很有前途。有报道称细菌捕食者可以消灭生物膜或消除病原体，这促使人们更系统地筛选能够消除生物膜的细菌捕食者。不幸的是，消除过程的分析要求很高。在本研究中，芯片量热法被应用于监测噬菌蛭弧菌对铜绿假单胞菌生物膜的消除。该方法使用代谢热作为生物膜活性的实时参数。由于实时数据采集，该方法是非侵入性的、快速和方便的。此外，产热量数据可以揭示捕食者-猎物相互作用的能量学信息。量热学结果通过共聚焦激光扫描显微镜进行了验证。所描述的方法可能有助于筛选不同捕食者对生物膜的敏感性。
