Study of the antagonistic relationship between gene expression biofilm of and that cause otomycosis.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Various species of microorganisms interact in a variety of ecological niches and can lead to infection. A biofilm of one or more species may form during the infectious process. Otomycosis can be brought on by etiologic agents, such as and . This study aimed to survey the antagonistic relationship between the gene expression biofilms of and in the context of otomycosis-related biofilm formation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study examined single-species biofilms of and , as well as mixed-species biofilms of -, over 24 and 48 h. Expression of biofilm-related genes (, , , , , and ) was analyzed using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Impact of on the gene expression of was evaluated and compared to the gene expression of alone, which served as the control.

RESULTS

Biofilm formation assays showed that biofilm formation was significantly inhibited when co-cultured with , with optical density values dropping from 0.56 (alone) to 0.15 at 24 h and 0.05 at 48 h. Real-time PCR analysis revealed that the expression of biofilm-related genes, namely , , , , , and , increased significantly in single-species biofilms, reaching 2.5, 3, 1.5, 3.5, 2, and 1.7, respectively, at 24 h and 3.5, 4, 2, 4.2, 3, and 2, respectively at 48 h. However, in co-culture with , their gene expression was markedly reduced to 0.8, 0.5, 0.4, 0.9, 0.6, 0.5, respectively, at 24 h and 0.5, 1, 0.2, 0.8, 0.6. , and 0.3, respectively, at 48 h, demonstrating a strong inhibitory effect of on biofilm formation and gene expression.

CONCLUSION

This study described the antagonistic relationship between and on the gene expression biofilm that causes otomycosis, as well as the antibiosis relationship between the two during in vitro biofilm formation. These findings provide new insights into the complex interactions between these microorganisms during infection and may have implications for understanding and managing otomycosis.