The interdependence of plasmids and biofilms: from fundamental to applied research

质粒和生物膜的相互依赖性：从基础研究到应用研究

• 批准号: 355606-2013
• 负责人: Hausner, Martina
• 金额: $ 2.19万
• 依托单位: Ryerson University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2013-01-01 至 2014-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=527834
• 关键词: interdependence; plasmids; biofilms; fundamental; applied

There is a great need to understand the link between biofilms and gene transfer. Biofilms, accumulations of microorganisms and their products, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), play important roles in both natural and engineered environments. Horizontal gene transfer (HGT), the exchange of genetic information (encoded on mobile genetic elements such as plasmids) between cells significantly contributes to adaptation, evolution and ecology of microbial communities and can be considered a bioaugmentation strategy. This could be of importance for finding new ways of dealing with environmental pollutants or understanding the spread of antibiotic resistance in natural and anthropogenic conditions where biofilms rather than individual bacteria usually predominate. We still have a limited understanding of the interplay between plasmid transfer dynamics, plasmid persistence and biofilm development and function. The overall objective for the proposed research program is to study the interconnection between biofilm architecture, plasmid presence and transfer, and intrinsic (e.g. biofilm age) and extrinsic (e.g. antibiotic stress) parameters influencing biofilm development and activities within biofilms. The proposed research program will include two main research foci. (i) We will continue studying the effect of environmental parameters on biofilm structure and composition. While previous studies have shown that biofilm development is influenced by external factors, such as antibiotic stress, a knowledge gap exists with respect to establishing correlations between external parameters and biofilm structure. (ii) We will couple the results generated in the research described above to the study of plasmid transfer in biofilms. Important questions to be answered include how biofilm age and the presence of environmental stress (e.g. antibiotics) influence the success of plasmid transfer and plasmid persistence. The findings from the proposed work can provide a connection to other research areas, including clinical microbiology and remediation strategies.

我们非常需要了解生物膜和基因转移之间的联系。生物膜，微生物及其产物，细胞外聚合物（EPS）的积累，在自然和工程环境中都起着重要的作用。水平基因转移（HGT）是指细胞间遗传信息（编码在质粒等可移动遗传元件上）的交换，对微生物群落的适应、进化和生态有重要贡献，可以被认为是一种生物增强策略。这对于寻找处理环境污染物的新方法或了解在生物膜而不是单个细菌通常占主导地位的自然和人为条件下抗生素耐药性的传播可能很重要。我们对质粒转移动力学、质粒持久性和生物膜发育和功能之间的相互作用仍然了解有限。拟议研究计划的总体目标是研究生物膜结构、质粒存在和转移以及影响生物膜发育和生物膜内活动的内在（如生物膜年龄）和外在（如抗生素应激）参数之间的相互联系。拟议的研究计划将包括两个主要的研究重点。(i)我们会继续研究环境参数对生物膜结构及组成的影响。虽然先前的研究表明生物膜的发育受到外部因素的影响，如抗生素应激，但在建立外部参数与生物膜结构之间的相关性方面存在知识空白。（ii）我们将把上述研究中产生的结果与生物膜中质粒转移的研究结合起来。需要回答的重要问题包括生物膜年龄和环境压力（如抗生素）的存在如何影响质粒转移和质粒持久性的成功。这项工作的发现可以为其他研究领域提供联系，包括临床微生物学和补救策略。