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It is suggested that around two-thirds of bacterial infections in humans involve biofilms. [50] [129] Infections associated with the biofilm growth usually are challenging to eradicate. [130] This is mostly due to the fact that mature biofilms display antimicrobial tolerance, and immune response evasions.
A stress response that can occur under conditions that are non-advantageous, but also non-lethal, is the creation of a biofilm. In this response, bacterial cells can secrete extracellular polymeric substances to form a film that can provide support to the bacterial colony, such as by improving their ability to adhere to a surface. [4]
Because biofilms protect the bacteria, they are often more resistant to traditional antimicrobial treatments, making them a serious health risk. [1] For example, there are more than one million cases of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) reported each year, many of which can be attributed to bacterial biofilms. [2]
Bacterial morphological plasticity refers to changes in the shape and size that bacterial cells undergo when they encounter stressful environments. Although bacteria have evolved complex molecular strategies to maintain their shape, many are able to alter their shape as a survival strategy in response to protist predators, antibiotics, the immune response, and other threats.
Marine biofilm communities have rich and diverse taxa, [11] with Cyanobacteria and Proteobacteria being the dominant phyla. [12] Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Planctomycetes are also considered to be dominant phyla but their relative abundances differ between locations. [12] Site-specific differences also arise within intertidal biofilms.
Biofilms serve to protect these bacteria from adverse environmental factors, including host immune system components in addition to antibiotics. P. aeruginosa can cause nosocomial infections and is considered a model organism for the study of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
The usual active lifestyle can change and the bacteria can remain in intracellular vacuoles entering into a slow non-growing state of persistence thus promoting their survival from antibiotics. [12] Fungal persister cells are a common cause of recurring infections due to Candida albicans a common biofilm infection of implants. [5]
EPSs are the construction material of bacterial settlements and either remain attached to the cell's outer surface, or are secreted into its growth medium. These compounds are important in biofilm formation and cells' attachment to surfaces. EPSs constitute 50% to 90% of a biofilm's total organic matter. [2] [4] [5]