Biofilms are characterized by surface attachment, structural heterogeneity; genetic diversity; complex community interactions and an extracellular matrix of polymeric substances (EPS). Biofilms deposit and adhere to all surfaces that are immersed in aqueous environments. EPS serves many functions including: facilitation of the initial attachment of bacterial cells to a surface; formation and maintenance of the micro colony; enables the bacteria to capture nutrients; causes biofouling; cell-cell communication and enhances bacterial resistance antimicrobial agents. EPS also function as a stabilizer of the biofilm structure and as a barrier against hostile environments. Extracelullar polymeric substances are composed of a wide variety of materials including polysaccharides, proteins, nucleic acid, uronic acid, DNA, lipid and even humid substances. EPS can be hydrophilic or hydrophobic depending on the structural components making up such EPS and the environmental conditions were the biofilms are developing. The exopolysachharides (EPS) synthesized by microbial cells vary greatly in their composition and in their chemical and physical properties within the bacterial strains. Due to variety in the structural components of the bacterial EPS, removal of biofilms by compounds that have no effects on the biofilm EPS would be difficult. Enzymes are proven to be effective in degrading biofilm EPS. The manner in which enzymes degrade the biofilm EPS is through binding and hydrolysis of the EPS components (proteins and carbohydrates) molecules and converting them into smaller units that can be transported through the cell membranes and then be metabolized. The objectives of this study were to grow Pseudomonas fluorescens and mixed bacterial species biofilms in nutrient rich and nutrient limited medium conditions; to determine the EPS, protein and carbohydrate concentrations of the biofilm grown in rich and in limited nutrient conditions and to test the efficiency of protease and amylase enzymes for the degradation of the EPS and biofilm removal. In the results, there was a slight difference in the number of viable cells grown in biofilms that were fed than the cells of the unfed biofilms. As a result, the EPS, protein and carbohydrate concentrations were higher in the fed biofilms than the unfed biofilms. There are contradictory reports about the composition of EPS especially with the ratio of carbohydrate to protein. Some of these reports indicate that certain biofilms EPS have bigger proportion of proteins and some found polysaccharides to be the dominant composition of the EPS of the biofilms. Nonetheless, the quantity and the composition of the EPS produced by bacterial biofilms depend on a number of factors such as microbial species, growth phase and the type of limiting substrate. Enzymes were tested individually and in combination for the degradation of biofilm EPS. For efficient removal of biofilm, it is important that the structural components of the biofilm EPS should be known before application of the relevant enzymes. In this study, the test enzymes were effective for the degradation of the biofilm EPS except for the protease Polarzyme which had no activity. The reason for the inefficiency of Polarzyme may be due to its incompatibility with the specific protein structural components of the biofilm EPS tested in this study. The manner in which the enzymes degrade the biofilm EPS is through binding and hydrolysis of the protein and carbohydrate molecules and converting them into smaller units that can be transported through the cell membranes and then be metabolized. In addition, the mode of enzymatic action will depend on the specific EPS components and this in turn will determine its efficacy. The protease enzymes tested individually and in combination were most effective for EPS degradation. The efficiency of the proteases may be due to their broad spectrum activity in degrading a variety of proteins acting partly as the multi structural components of Pseudomonas fluorescens and mixed bacterial species biofilm EPS. On the other hand, amylase enzymes tested individually and in combination was less effective for the EPS degradation. The structures of polysaccharides synthesized by microbial cells vary. Microbial exopolysaccharides are comprised of either homopolysachharides or heteoropolysaccharides. A number of lactic acid bacteria produce heteropolysaccharides and these molecules form from repeating units of monosaccharides including D- glucose, D- galactose, L- fructose, L- rhamnose, D- glucuronic acid, L- guluronic acid and D- mannuronic acid. The type of both linkages between monosaccharides units and the branching of the chain determines the physical properties of the microbial heteropolysaccharides. Due to a wide range of linkages and the complexity of polysaccharides structures, it would therefore be difficult for the amylases to break down the bond linkages and the monomers making up polysaccharides which determine the physical and chemical structure of the EPS. It was therefore not surprising that the amylase enzymes tested for the degradation of Pseudomonas fluorescens and mixed bacterial species biofilms, were less effective than the proteases. Hence, when the amylase enzymes were tested in combination with the protease enzymes, efficiency improved. It was therefore concluded that the protease enzymes were the primary remedial compounds and the amylase enzymes were the secondary remedial compounds. Conclusion If a compound or compounds capable of destroying all the structural components of different EPS that are produced by different biofilms growing under different conditions is found then the “city of microbes” (biofilms) would be destroyed permanently. If only an enzyme or enzymatic mixture capable of shutting down or deactivating the quorum sensing systems of different biofilm EPS could be found, then there would not be any formation of biofilms. In this study, protease enzymes tested individually and in combination were the most effective in the degradation of biofilm EPS than the amylase enzymes resulting in the reduction of large population of the biofilm cells attached on the substratum. Recommendation Amylase enzymes tested individually and in combination were less efficient for the degradation of the biofilm EPS and biofilm removal. This may be due to the complex structure of the exopolysaccharides synthesized by different biofilms. Also, the bond linkages between monosaccharides units and the branching of the chain complex the structures and as a result confer in the physical properties of the microbial biofilms. Hence, when the amylase enzymes were tested in combination with the protease enzymes, activity improved. For efficient degradation of biofilm EPS, it is therefore recommended that, protease and amylase enzymes should be tested in combination. In addition, the structure of the biofilm EPS should be investigated so that relevant enzymatic mixtures are tested for biofilm removal. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Microbiology and Plant Pathology / unrestricted

<div><div><div><p>Foodborne pathogens form biofilms as a survival strategy in various unfavorable environments, and biofilms are known to be the frequent source for infection and outbreaks of foodborne illness. Therefore, it is essential to understand the pathogenicity of bacteria in biofilms and methods to inactivate biofilm-forming microbes from food processing environments, including school cafeteria or other community-based food production facilities, and to prevent foodborne outbreaks. Pathogen transmissions occur primarily through raw or under cooked foods and by cross contamination during unsanitary food preparation practices. Then, pathogens can form biofilms on the surface and become persistent in food production facilities and can be a source for recurrent contamination and foodborne outbreaks. In this study, our first aim was to use L. monocytogenes as a model pathogen to study how an enteric infectious pathogen isolated from biofilm modifies its pathogenesis compared to its planktonic counterpart. Both clinical and food isolates with different serotypes and biofilm-forming abilities were selected and tested using cell culture and mouse models. L. monocytogenes sessile cells isolated from biofilms express reduced levels of the lap, inlA, hly, prfA, and sigB and show reduced adhesion, invasion, translocation, and cytotoxicity in the cell culture model than the planktonic cells. Oral challenge of C57BL/6 mice with food, clinical, or murinized-InlA (InlAm) strains revealed that at 12 and 24 h post-infection (hpi), L. monocytogenes burdens are lower in tissues of mice infected with sessile cells than those infected with planktonic cells. However, these differences are negligible at 48 hpi. Besides, the expressions of inlA and lap mRNA in sessile L. monocytogenes from intestinal content are about 6.0- and 280-fold higher than the sessile inoculum, respectively, suggesting sessile L. monocytogenes can still upregulate virulence genes shortly after ingestion (12 h).</p><p>After learning biofilm isolated L. monocytogenes cells have similar virulence potential as the planktonic counterparts, our next goal was to effectively prevent or inactivate biofilms using food-grade natural microbials. Since L. monocytogenes cells are usually found in multi-pathogen biofilm in nature, I combined two food-grade broad-spectrum natural antimicrobials, chitosan nanoparticles (ChNP) and ε-poly-L-lysine (PL), as ChNP-PL nanoconjugates and tested its function on single or mixed culture biofilms of L. monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica serovar Enteritidis, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. ChNP- PL not only was able to significantly (P<0.05) prevent the biofilm formation but also inactivate pre-formed biofilms when analyzed by crystal violet staining and plate counting. In vitro cytotoxicity analysis (LDH and WST-based assays) using an intestinal cell line, indicated ChNP- PL to be non-toxic. In conclusion, our results showed ChNP-PL has strong potential to prevent the formation or inactivation of preformed polymicrobial biofilms of foodborne pathogens in food processing environment. Application of ChNP-PL could inhibit the colonization of foodborne pathogens, minimize cross-contamination during food production, and eventually reduce foodborne outbreaks.</p></div></div></div>

Investigations were carried out to assess biofilm formation within a model warm water distribution system (test rig) under a variety of conditions. Analysis methods included ATP-/ culture-based analysis, SEM and confocal microscopy. Molecular-based community analysis was carried out using PCR/DGGE. High pH (9.53-10.08), induced by the presence of a sacrificial anode within the water heater, had a profound inhibitive effect on the culturability of biofilm bacteria on copper (Cu) pipe within the test rig. Concurrent investigations into the effect of stagnation (varied periods of non-flushing) appeared to contradict the widely held view that stagnation is conducive to biofilm formation, with greater flushing frequencies resulting in increased biofilm. It was concluded that a higher frequency of nutrient-delivering events were largely responsible for this and that in systems where lengthier stagnation periods were employed, factors such as low oxygen and reduced nutrient levels inhibited biofilm formation on previously uncontaminated Cu pipe. Thermal purging (TP) over a 28 day period of 30 second, 12 hourly flushing at 41 °C and three-daily one minute purging with 70 °C water resulted in a 99% reduction in the culturability of biofilm bacteria on both Cu and LLDPE. However, confocal microscopical analysis of bacterial numbers indicated that 25.06% (Cu) and 21.55% (LLDPE) of the initial bacterial population remained viable. A large proportion of non-viable biofilm bacteria were also observed. Further work is therefore required in order to optimize TP within the test rig. Biofilm formation on a range of different materials; Cu, stainless steel, PEX, and EPDM, showed significantly greater biofilm development on EPDM in comparison to the other materials. Preliminary investigations of LLDPE and tap outlet fittings showed that laminar flow outlet fittings may act as reservoirs for the development and subsequent dissemination of biofilm. Molecular bacterial community structural studies of test rig biofilms clearly showed that biofilm community composition was significantly affected by both temporal and environmental factors, and varied at points within the same system. Sequencing did not provide a great insight into the composition of the bacterial communities within the test rig, and further work is required to gain a more complete picture of bacterial community diversity within the test rig. These studies show that biofilm formation within the test rig is greatly influenced by a wide variety of factors. The test rig’s unique design necessitates a cautionary approach when making comparisons with, for example, larger water distribution systems