Molecular Info®

Molecular Info® Copy Right © 2001 Institute of Molecular Development LLC

Gene expression in Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms MARVIN WHITELEY, M. GITA BANGERA, ROGER E. BUMGARNER, MATTHEW R. PARSEK, GAIL M. TEITZEL, STEPHEN LORY & E. P. GREENBERG The Nature, October 2001, 413: 860 - 864. Bacteria adopt a sessile biofilm lifestyle that is resistant to antimicrobial treatment. DNA microarrays were used to gain insights into the differences between free-living P. aeruginosa cells and those in biofilms, and into the mechanisms underlying the resistance of biofilms to antibiotics. Despite the striking differences in lifestyles, only about 1% of genes showed differential expression in the two growth modes; about 0.5% of genes were activated and about 0.5% were repressed in biofilms. Some of the regulated genes are known to affect antibiotic sensitivity of free-living P. aeruginosa. Exposure of biofilms to high levels of the antibiotic tobramycin caused differential expression of 20 genes. This response may be critical for the development of biofilm resistance to tobramycin. Gene expression in biofilm cells is similar to that in free-living cells but there are a small number of significant differences.