CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 200Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensingEscherichia coli research studiesLegionella and Acanthamoeba research

Microcolonies, quorum sensing and cytotoxicity determine the survival of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms exposed to protozoan grazing

Matz, Carsten, Bergfeld, Tanja, Rice, Scott A., Kjelleberg, Staffan·2004·Environmental Microbiology
DOI 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2004.00556.x
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

This study was based on the hypothesis that biofilms of the opportunistic pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa are successfully adapted to situations of protozoan grazing. We tested P. aeruginosa wild type and strains that were genetically altered, in structural and regulatory features of biofilm development, in response to the common surface-feeding flagellate Rhynchomonas nasuta. Early biofilms of the wild type showed the formation of grazing resistant microcolonies in the presence of the flagellate, whereas biofilms without the predator were undifferentiated. Grazing on biofilms of quorum sensing mutants (lasR and rhlR/lasR) also resulted in the formation of microcolonies, however, in lower numbers and size compared to the wild type. Considerably fewer microcolonies than the wild type were formed by mutant cells lacking type IV pili, whereas no microcolonies were formed by flagella-deficient cells. The alginate-overproducing strain PDO300 developed larger microcolonies in response to grazing. These observations suggest a role of quorum sensing in early biofilms and involvement of flagella, type IV pili, and alginate in microcolony formation in the presence of grazing. More mature biofilms of the wild type exhibited acute toxicity to the flagellate R. nasuta. Rapid growth of the flagellate on rhlR/lasR mutant biofilms indicated a key role of quorum sensing in the upregulation of lethal factors and in grazing protection of late biofilms. Both the formation of microcolonies and the production of toxins are effective mechanisms that may allow P. aeruginosa biofilms to resist protozoan grazing and to persist in the environment.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2004.00556.x

Cites

45 of 45 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • P. aeruginosa formed microcolonies that conferred protection against grazing in the presence of a predatory protozoan.

    “Similarly, P. aeruginosa formed microcolonies that conferred protection against grazing in the presence of a predatory protozoan.”

    From Bacterial autoaggregation (2018) · cites this paper as [111]

  • Microcolony formation by P. aeruginosa depended on type IV pili, flagella and alginate production.

    “Microcolony formation depended on type IV pili, flagella and alginate production [111].”

    From Bacterial autoaggregation (2018) · cites this paper as [111]

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Matz, C., Bergfeld, T., Rice, S. A., & Kjelleberg, S.
Affiliations
UNSW Sydney (AU)
Corresponding author
Kjelleberg, Staffan
ORCID
Kjelleberg, Staffan
Venue
Environmental Microbiology
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2004-01-29
Volume
6
Issue
3
Pages
218-226
ISSN
  • 1462-2912 (ISSN-L)
  • 1462-2920
DOI
10.1111/j.1462-2920.2004.00556.x
OpenAlex
W2150588024
Cited by
200
References
45
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 12
FWCI
4.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Environmental Microbiology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
  • Universität zu Köln
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Bacterial biofilms and quorum sensing
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Endocrinology › Escherichia coli research studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Endocrinology › Legionella and Acanthamoeba research
Keywords
Pseudomonas aeruginosa, biofilm, protozoan grazing, microcolonies, quorum sensing, LasR, RhlR, type IV pili, flagella, alginate, cytotoxicity, biofilm persistence, opportunistic pathogens
MeSH terms
Adaptation, Biological, Alginates, Animals, Bacterial Proteins, DNA-Binding Proteins, Flagella, Hexuronic Acids, Microscopy, Fluorescence, Mutation, Fimbriae, Bacterial, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Trans-Activators, Kinetoplastida, Biofilms, Glucuronic Acid

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review