Abstract
The ability to colonise the surface of
liquids has obvious advantages for bacteria and
biofilm formation at the meniscus and air–liquid
(A–L) interface is common amongst environmental
pseudomonads. Bacteria from this genus also colonise
raw meat and in this work the ability of these to
produce biofilms was assessed. Sixty isolates were
recovered from vacuum-packed venison, phenotypically
characterised and shown by hierarchical cluster
analysis to represent a diverse collection of psychrotrophic
spoilt venison-associated pseudomonads. Of
these, 12 % were found to produce biofilms limited to
the meniscus region of the microcosm walls, 31 %
produced attached biofilms with significant extensions
across the A–L interface and 45 % produced unattached
‘floating’ biofilms. A combined statistical
analysis of growth, biofilm strength and attachment
levels revealed that growth affected strength but not attachment, and that there was a significant relationship
between attachment and strength. Some environmental
pseudomonads are known to utilise cellulose as
a biofilm matrix component and here 28 % of the SVP
isolates were found to express cellulose by epifluorescent
microscopy. This survey suggests that biofilm
formation may be more common in psychrotrophic
meat-associated isolates than amongst the wider
pseudomonad community from which spoilage bacteria
might be recruited. This may reflect a selective
advantage of bacterial aggregations such as biofilms in
environments subject to high levels of physical
disturbance. Aggregations may be more resistant to
competition and dehydration stress than individual
bacteria, whilst fragments of these aggregations may
prove more effective in the colonisation of new habitats.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 251–259 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Antonie van Leeuwenhoek |
Volume | 103 |
Issue number | 1 |
Early online date | 16 Sep 2012 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jan 2013 |
Keywords
- Biofilm
- Cellulose
- Pseudomonas
- Psychrotrophic
- Spoilt meat