The survivors of the extreme: Bacterial biofilms

Abstract

Biofilms are bacteria’s way of behaving like a multi-cellular organism. Bacteria have been constantly evolving in the face of myriad natural challenges since the first life form appeared. Over the centuries, they have survived under extreme conditions by virtue of their ability to form biofilms. Biofilms have proved to be an immensely strong collaborative effort of bacteria, and this interaction is administered via their quorum-sensing mechanism. A biofilm plays a crucial role in survival, dispersal, transfer of resistance genes, and generation of diversity among bacteria. It can also act as a pathogenic factor for virulent bacteria and biofilms are often listed as the major cause of many diseases, such as endocarditis, cystic fibrosis, etc. Bacterial biofilms can be formed on almost every surface and, thus, have deleterious effects on many indwelling medical devices and industrial equipment. Many methods—from antibiotics to ultraviolet (UV) radiation—are currently being used to eliminate or reduce biofilm. However, the most effective and eco-friendly measure involves the targeting of the root phenomenon, quorum sensing. Biofilm formation and dispersal mechanisms are being studied to increase the efficiency of biofilm elimination. Despite the many harms they can pose, these biofilms have been efficiently manipulated to be used for various purposes such as wastewater treatment, microbial fuel cells, drug delivery, nanobiotechnology, etc. Biofilms bring about a very detailed level of complexity that helps for better persistence of the bacterial population and at the same time, provides us a valuable tool to address several important environmental issues. Thus, it will be appropriate to term bacterial biofilms as remarkably proficient assemblies of the life forms.