Death and transfiguration in static Staphylococcus epidermidis cultures

Schaudinn, Christoph; Stoodley, Paul; Hall-Stoodley, Luanne; Gorur, Amita; Remis, Jonathan; Wu, Siva; Auer, Manfred; Hertwig, Stefan; Guerrero-Given, Debbie; Hu, Fen Ze; Ehrlich, Garth D.; Costerton, John William; Robinson, Douglas H.; Webster, Paul

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0100002

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Death and transfiguration in static Staphylococcus epidermidis cultures

Schaudinn, C., Stoodley, P., Hall-Stoodley, L., Gorur, A., Remis, J., Wu, S., et al. (2014). Death and transfiguration in static Staphylococcus epidermidis cultures. PloS One, 9(6), e100002-9. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0100002.

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Item Permalink: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-0026-D06B-6 Version Permalink: https://hdl.handle.net/11858/00-001M-0000-0028-294A-4

Genre: Journal Article

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Creators:
Schaudinn, Christoph, Author
Stoodley, Paul, Author
Hall-Stoodley, Luanne, Author
Gorur, Amita, Author
Remis, Jonathan, Author
Wu, Siva, Author
Auer, Manfred, Author
Hertwig, Stefan, Author
Guerrero-Given, Debbie¹, Author
Hu, Fen Ze, Author
Ehrlich, Garth D., Author
Costerton, John William, Author
Robinson, Douglas H., Author
Webster, Paul, Author

Affiliations:
1Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, Max Planck Society, One Max Planck Way, Jupiter FL 33458, USA, ou_1950288

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Free keywords: Bacterial Adhesion Biofilms Culture Techniques Staphylococcus epidermidis

Abstract: The overwhelming majority of bacteria live in slime embedded microbial communities termed biofilms, which are typically adherent to a surface. However, when several Staphylococcus epidermidis strains were cultivated in static liquid cultures, macroscopic aggregates were seen floating within the broth and also sedimented at the test tube bottom. Light- and electron microscopy revealed that early-stage aggregates consisted of bacteria and extracellular matrix, organized in sheet-like structures. Perpendicular under the sheets hung a network of periodically arranged, bacteria-associated strands. During the extended cultivation, the strands of a subpopulation of aggregates developed into cross-connected wall-like structures, in which aligned bacteria formed the walls. The resulting architecture had a compartmentalized appearance. In late-stage cultures, the wall-associated bacteria disintegrated so that, henceforth, the walls were made of the coalescing remnants of lysed bacteria, while the compartment-like organization remained intact. At the same time, the majority of strand-containing aggregates with associated culturable bacteria continued to exist. These observations indicate that some strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis are able to build highly sophisticated structures, in which a subpopulation undergoes cell lysis, presumably to provide continued access to nutrients in a nutrient-limited environment, whilst maintaining structural integrity.

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Dates: Date issued: 2014-06-25

Publication Status: Issued

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Identifiers: DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100002

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Title: PloS One

Source Genre: Journal

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Pages: - Volume / Issue: 9 (6) Sequence Number: - Start / End Page: e100002 - 9 Identifier: -