Biofilms

Question 1

Define biofilm

Answer 1

Syntrophic community of microorganisms which adhere to one another and often also to a surface

Question 2

What are the two states of bacteria

Answer 2

Mobile planktonic and static biofilms

Question 3

Biofilms contain what 4 substances (E,E,G,S)

Answer 3

Extracellular polymeric substance (EPS)
ECM
Glycocalyx
Slime

Question 4

How are biofilms organised name some parts

Answer 4

Bulk fluid, cell clusters, voids, streamers and channels

Question 5

Name the steps of biofilm formations

Answer 5

Initital attatchment
Irreversible attatchment
Maturation I
Maturation II
Dispersion

Question 6

What can trigger biofilm formation

Answer 6

Dessication, antibiotics, high cell density

Question 7

Production+detection of what singalling molecules can trigger biofilm formation

Answer 7

N-acyl homoserine lactones, oligopeptides, autoinducer-2.

Question 8

Triggers in biofilm formation will or will not prompt changes in bacterial gene expression

Answer 8

Yes

Question 9

What is the biofilm switch in Ps. aeruginosa (second messenger and effector)

Answer 9

Second messenger c-di-GMP and its receptor-effector FleQ

Question 10

Do biofilms have emergent properties

Answer 10

Yes

Question 11

What are emergent properties

Answer 11

Proteins or behaviours that arise in a complex system that aren’t predictable from study of the individual components.

Question 12

Is growth slower or faster in biofilms

Answer 12

Slower

Question 13

Are antibiotics more or less effective in biofilms

Answer 13

Less

Question 14

Does AMR increase or decrease in biofilms

Answer 14

Increased via spon./mutation or HGT

Question 15

What antibiotic insteasing the ability of MRSA cells to attatch to surfaces and form biofilms

Answer 15

Mupirocin

Question 16

What antibiotic is effective against staph biofilms?

Answer 16

Rifampicin

Question 17

What can reduce biofilm hypermutability

Answer 17

Antioxidants

Question 19

What two oral biofilms are there? (to learn)

Answer 19

Gingivitis and periodinitis

Question 20

What is periodonitis

Answer 20

Progressive, gingivitis leading to inflammation involving tissue that joins teeth to gums (periodontium) and or supporting bone

Question 21

In biofilm infection of the wounds is debridgement or antibiotics more useful

Answer 21

Debridgement

Question 22

Biofilm infection of wounds are mono- or polymicrobial

Answer 22

Polymicrobial

Question 23

What species of Staphyloccocus are associated with biofilms

Answer 23

S. aureus or S. epidermidis

Question 24

MSCRAMMs

Answer 24

Microbial Surface Components that Recognize Adhesive Matrix Molecules

Question 25

MSCRAMMs are invovled in what?

Answer 25

colonisation and sepsis, mediate attachment of the Staph species to foreign body material and implants

Question 26

Examples of MSCRAMMs

Answer 26

Fibronectin adhesions (FnBPA and FnBPB), collagen-binding protein (Cna), fibrinogen-binding proteins (ClfA and ClfB).

Question 27

What bacteria cause and a major form of death in CF patients

Answer 27

Ps. aeruginosa

Question 28

Calgary Biofilm Device is a technology for what

Answer 28

Reproducible assay of biofilm susceptibilities to antibiotics.

Question 29

Antibiofilm MOA of redox-active compounds

Answer 29

Cell killers and matrix "killers"